Club Brugge boss Nicky Hayen hopes Russell Martin will be given time at Rangers

Club Brugge boss Nicky Hayen wants under-fire Russell Martin to be given more time to be a success at Rangers.

The former Southampton boss is facing increasing pressure in the Ibrox hot seat following the 1-1 draw against St Mirren in Paisley on Sunday.

That left the Light Blues with three points from their first three William Hill Premiership games and already six points behind Old Firm rivals Celtic.

Rangers also trail Club Brugge 3-1 in their Champions League play-off tie with the return game in Belgium on Wednesday night and Gers boss Martin will need to conjur up something special to make the league phase of the competition and hold off his critics.

Speaking at the pre-match media conference Hayen, who got to know Martin when he was Swansea boss during his own time with Haverfordwest County, said: “Of course, it’s a tough situation.

“I don’t know the club really well, but they started again from the bottom (Rangers re-emerged in bottom tier of Scottish football after financial meltdown in 2012), so they’re growing again and it takes time.

“But at a top club and you see it also with us, you don’t have the time to build, you need results and then it depends how calm the board is, to give you the time to build or not.

“And of course, the results are not in a favour at the moment, but Russell is a good manager and he needs time, but it’s up to the club if they decide to give him a time or not.

“I hope he gets time – after tomorrow. I like him very much, but not tomorrow.”

There is no respite for under-siege Martin, who has to welcome Celtic to Ibrox on Sunday when the Hoops can open up a nine-point lead over the Govan club with only four fixtures played.

Hayen is hoping to take advantage of any confusions around priority from the visitors. He said: “I expect a team that has nothing to lose anymore.

“Like a little bit the second half, that they go all in, that they go full.

“Try to score as quick as possible to come again in the game. This is something that we have to be aware of. We want the players to be there from the first whistle.

“We are going to play our game like we did over there. Try to score that goal. Of course, as you said, the results are not in his favour.

“There is a big game coming up in the weekend against Celtic. We hope that we can score. This starts to plant some doubt. What is the most important? Go for the Champions League or winning the Old Firm?

“We have to be focused from the first whistle. We start the game like it’s a draw again, like 0-0.

“This is the mindset that we need. We know that we don’t have to put a lot of risk from the start. Because we have the bonus, we have to be aware of that also.

“But we just have to play like it’s a draw again. We want to win the game again.”