Russell Martin certain his Rangers will win over boo boys as he fights against old habits creeping back in
Confident Russell Martin reckons his new-look Rangers will be ready to rock for their Champions League opener - and believes they can win over the Ibrox boo boys.
The Light Blues boss was given an early feel of the suffocating pressure levels he can expect to face this season when his team was jeered off only 45 minutes into their first public FRIENDLY clash with Club Brugge earlier this month.
The fans were far happier by the end as Gers recovered from two-goals down to draw.
But the former Southampton gaffer is well aware he'll need to have the punters onside from the start if they are to stand a chance of getting a result when they kick-off their bid to reach UEFA's top tournament at home to Panathinaikos next Tuesday.
Martin, however, is happy with how his new-look side is shaping up after last week's gruelling training camp at St George's Park.
He said: 'In terms of the three weeks' work we've had, I've been so impressed with the players and what I've seen of their willingness to run, to try.
'They're so tired. They had double sessions every day last week apart from Friday. So they've worked so hard.
'Now it's about tapering down, using the friendly games we have to experiment a few things and work out what we think is the best team and the best way to approach that game.
'And that might mean we have one or two new players by that point as well.
'But with the group we've got right now, it's about what's the best way for us to win that game and to prepare for that.'
'I wasn't very happy at half-time against Brugge.
'I think we need to put in performances that the fans feel connected with. Hopefully, they felt very differently at full-time than they did at half-time. I certainly did. The players did.
'But it was interesting for us to see some habits creep back in that we need to get rid of quickly, especially at Ibrox, where we're going to have to play with so much energy, so much aggression, so much intensity.
'And when we lack that, I probably expect the crowd to feel a certain way.
'I hope in a weeks' time they'll be there, fully behind us. We need to give them something to really feel energised about. And I think we will.
'I hope we will. That's the plan. Then after that, it's about all of that, how we do on the pitch, what we do on the pitch.
'If we're winning, if we're playing with the energy I want us to play with and the way we want to play, then I think hopefully we'll have a crowd that feels connected to that team.'
Martin spent six months on loan at Rangers as a player during Graeme Murty's spell as Gers caretaker boss - but never got to sample the electrifying atmosphere Ibrox generates on a European night.
But he's looking forward to seeing sparks fly next week.
'Yeah, I can't wait,' he said. 'It's the reason we turned down a few jobs elsewhere before this one. We were waiting for this one because of them nights, those moments to come up here and try to win things.
'If we can get it rocking and rolling it'd be amazing.
'It'll be one of the best moments of all of our careers and now we have to do it.'
Looking back on his own Gers stint, he said: 'There were still some good nights. I remember my debut against Aberdeen at home was fantastic. Scoring against Hearts was fantastic.
'That's probably... Yeah, that's probably it!
"It was a difficult period but I learnt so much and it's prepared me so much for now. Having a feel and a taste of the club and the expectation, the city.
"I felt my whole playing career was preparing me to be a manager really. I never expected to achieve what I did in my playing career. I always wanted to be a head coach and a manager.
'I feel that time has prepared me so much for this.
'I'm not sure you'll ever be relaxed as the head coach of Rangers Football Club.
'We always want more. We'd love a bit more time. We'd love a few more players in now. But it just doesn't happen like that. Football's not ideal.
'But we have to be happy with the work we've done to try and put performance on the pitch to win the game and to look like us and to make sure we have something to really build off.'
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