To rub salt into the wounds, it was former Celtic forward Oh Hyeon-gyu who landed the decisive blow after the hosts had been reduced to 10 men following Mohamed Diomande’s first-half dismissal.
The hope was that the Glasgow club had turned a corner following Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win over Hibernian, but it is now just one victory in seven games for Martin.
Speaking to TNT Sports, McCoist assessed the latest setback and believes “something has to give” following the club’s abject start to the campaign.
McCoist said: “First thing you’ve got to say when you’re, I don’t want to say taking on the fans, but when the fans are against you, something dramatic has to give for you to win them back over.
“Sadly, looking at it and listening to it, that looks absolutely miles off, miles off. Now you’ve got all the backing you like from owners and directors and board, but if the people who pay their money coming into the stadium all of a sudden don’t continue, something has to give.
“I’m desperate for Russell Martin to turn things around and start getting a few results, but it looks miles off to me, looks miles off.”
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Highlights: Former Celtic man Oh haunts 10-man Rangers at Ibrox
Video credit: TNT Sports
Having come down from the gantry to continue his evaluation of Rangers’ current predicament, McCoist added that the irate fans are entitled to voice their opinions from the stands.
“Absolutely, of course they are,” McCoist said. “They’ve got every right to. They’re totally justified in being disappointed with what they’re seeing because, I mean, it clearly hasn’t been good enough, and it isn’t good enough.
“Tonight was another disappointment. You can point to the red card, a deserved red card, but it goes deeper than that. The level of performance hasn’t been good enough. I just felt coming into the stadium tonight, it could have blown me away, but it was nothing.
“It was nothing like a normal atmosphere of any game, never mind a European game here at Ibrox. There was an apathy; there was no life about the place, actually on and off the pitch, which is really, really concerning. Listen, the man (Martin) is in trouble.
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‘There’s so much frustration’ – Butland says Rangers going through ‘difficult time’
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“The man is in big trouble because something has to change, and something has to change dramatically. On the current evidence, sadly, I can’t see it happening.”
Martin was in search of successive victories for the first time, but his team were second best for long spells against the Belgian side, who missed a string of chances.
Oh – who scored 12 goals in 47 Celtic appearances a couple of seasons ago – missed the chance to break the deadlock sooner when his penalty was saved by Jack Butland on the stroke of half-time.
Martin has vowed to fight on to bring about improved performances and results.
He told TNT Sports: “I think it’s difficult because we were down to 10 men for so long. We had good control in the first bit of the game and had a tough spell where we had to defend a little bit because we weren’t good enough or clean enough with the ball. I thought we rode that out, but then Dio (Diomande) got sent off, and it changed the game.
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‘Not learning quick enough’ – McCoist, Hutton on Martin’s post-match interview
Video credit: TNT Sports
“The lads were good in the second half, we looked a threat on the break, they wanted to take the ball, they stuck together. We wanted to be aggressive with it, to try and cause them problems, but then they scored a goal we shouldn’t have conceded.
“I’m proud of that second half with 10 men for so long against a decent team. It’s not easy. It is what it is. It’s not about the result, it’s about the performance.
“I think we trap ourselves; we don’t show enough intensity to receive the ball and find the other side of the pitch. It hurts a little bit.
“We were playing against a team that set up well but we should do better with the ball. We should look after the ball better but it’s about habits so it was fine when it’s going well but when we have a little bit of a wobble, habits change and we have to change it into habits that are right for us all of the time.
“I think we’ll learn and grow from tonight. I think they did well for having 10 men for a long time to play, so I think there will be a lot of learning from tonight.”
