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The teeming fairways of Bethpage Black on Saturday had nothing on the front door of Almondvale Stadium the following afternoon.
When the Rangers team bus alighted at the front door of Livingston’s ground, a raft of visiting supporters were corralled around the perimeter fencing.
One-by-one, the players trooped off to muted applause. It was soon apparent, though, that lending them their encouragement before a tricky away fixture was not the reason why those decked out in red, white and blue had congregated.
Last to step off the vehicle, the reception Russell Martin received would have been no more hostile if Craig Whyte had turned up dressed head to toe in Celtic colours. The atmosphere could safely be described as toxic.
Rangers were hardly scintillating in the contest which ensued. Yet, when Max Aarons netted deep into injury time to make the score 2-1, a long-suffering fan base was able to celebrate a first league victory since May 14.
A bit of respite, surely, for an embattled manager after months of relentless criticism? Not a bit of it. The home side hadn’t even restarted the match when the cheers subsided and the verbal machine-gunning of Martin resumed on three sides of the ground. In case you’ve been living in a cave lately, they’d all rather he went somewhere else.
Russell Martin was booed off the team bus on his arrival at Almondvale Stadium last weekend
Every step Martin took in Livingston was accompanied by the sound of fans venting their fury
Max Aarons' late winner may have kept Martin in a job...but for how much longer?
It was only his decision to beat a hasty retreat up the tunnel when the final whistle sounded which allowed his players to enjoy a rare moment of triumph.
It’s evident that Martin’s presence is now seen as malignant by the support even in victory. Aside from going the rest of the entire campaign without dropping a beat, it’s inordinately difficult to see what he can do to win this battle for hearts and minds.
The 39-year-old isn’t the first person to discover that managing one half of the Old Firm can feel like the loneliest job in the world when things aren’t going your way. But it’s doubtful if any man in history has felt quite the same level of revulsion from his own supporters in the West of Scotland.
Even for seasoned observers of Rangers during times of strife, the abuse which rained down on the manager during the closing minutes of last Thursday’s home loss to Genk in the Europa League was off the charts.
Each personal insult was more wounding than the next. In 30 years of covering matches at Ibrox, this correspondent had never heard such treatment meted out even to sworn enemies.
While winning football matches is truly the only way for a manager to top a popularity contest, you wonder if even that would be enough for the current incumbent to gain a modicum of respect.
Rangers supporters have continued to make their feelings clear on Martin and CEO Stewart
Martin was only half joking a few weeks back when he claimed that his appearance had something to do with the extraordinary level of vitriol he’s consistently been subjected to. There may well be something in this.
‘The noise is something I can’t control,’ he said.
‘The only way you can control it in football is by winning matches and there will still be people unhappy that I’ve got long hair, a centre parting and can’t wear a shirt and tie because I’m too sweaty. I wear it to the games out of respect, but I can’t during the game.
‘You’re never going to please everyone even if we win loads of trophies, which is the plan.’
To that list of supposed faults, he may now add the fact that he’d the temerity to wear a pair of glasses during a TV interview last week. The reason? He happens to need them to see.
The fact that he’s been a vegan for over a decade also seems to cause grave offence. The former Scotland defender took that step back in 2014 to manage ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease.
The reaction to him taking his players up Conic Hill a few weeks back to clear their minds was predictably hysterical. Really, what harm did it do? He’s scarcely the first struggling manager to shake up the routine by doing something off the wall. Try as he might, he clearly cannot win here.
The level of opprobrium is such that even a long winning run is unlikely to win hearts and minds
Martin would just not be human if there wasn’t a part of him which privately wishes that this dark episode could be over.
Footballers and managers are tough cookies. The top end of the game is no place for any individual who doesn’t have broad shoulders to deal with the inevitable criticism that comes their way.
But what Martin is being constantly subjected to would eventually grind anyone down. Win, lose or draw, his head is hitting the pillow every night knowing he’s public enemy No1 among the very people who he’s striving to please. That’s not healthy.
Little wonder he’s never been spotted outwith his place of employment, doing everyday things such as shopping or having a meal.
How appealing a decent pay-off and a job back in the English Championship must often feel.
We’ll never know if Aarons’ late intervention in West Lothian prevented him from being put out of his misery.
You can’t help but feel that Rangers are now in a holding pattern, the manager living game-to-game, the angry noise emanating from the support in sharp contrast to the silence of the American owners. It’s a curious situation.
Martin has done well to cope with flak so far but it would be a surprise to see him stay in situ
The fact is that as October comes into view, Martin’s men have yet to win two consecutive matches. Sunday’s victory took the side up to eighth in the league. Any joy derived from beating Hibs to progress to a semi-final clash with Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup was negated by last week’s home defeat to the Belgians.
Any struggling manager always has reason to fear an international break. Martin will assuredly be in charge for Thursday’s game away to Sturm Graz and Sunday’s trip to Falkirk which come immediately before it.
A point in Austria would assuredly be an acceptable outcome and would rekindle interest in the Europa League campaign. Champions of their country for the second successive year last season, Graz themselves claimed a stoppage-time goal to beat Hartberg on Sunday to move up to second in the Bundesliga.
Regardless of how that one goes, anything less than a victory at the home of the Premiership new boys will drag Martin back to square one and intensify the calls for his dismissal.
It’s hard to imagine, though, that any level of opprobrium could now hurt him. His army of savage critics have already done their worst. Give him this much; The most vilified manager in Rangers’ history is still standing.
