Tam doesn’t know what the under fire boss expected to achieve with Loch Lomond outing as he lifts the lid on his own team bonding sessions
Rangers manager Russell Martin
Russell Martin could be sunk once and for all by Hibs.
That’s if his trip to Loch Lomond and organising climbs up mountains hasn’t done it already.
Team bonding trips I went on back in the day ended with players missing the next game with bruised legs and boys fighting.
We went paintballing with Hibs once under Bobby Williamson and that didn’t end well.
I’ll keep the names private, but some lads couldn’t help themselves with the chance to do damage by firing shots into each other at close range .
In the end, a couple of boys ended up in the physio room the next day after the other team jumped them and just rifled paint into them. They had bruises all over their legs and couldn’t walk properly for days.
Another time at Dunfermline when Stephen Kenny was our manager, he sent us for a day go-karting and that wasn’t any better.
One of the lads thought he was Lewis Hamilton and decided the guy in front of him was going too slow, so he just rammed him from behind and they both crashed.
Next thing, the two of them are out of the karts, helmets off, squaring up and firing off jabs.
Funnily enough, it’s Martin who must feel like he’s being punched in the head every two seconds at the moment, but what did he expect the response would be to this latest plan?
Russell Martin took his players on team bonding trip to Loch Lomond
I’m not joking, it’s like he’s trying everything possible to turn the Rangers supporters against him.
He’s got Nicolas Raskin out of the squad and he’s a fans’ favourite. It’s like everything they are wanting, he’s doing the opposite. I don’t know if it’s stubbornness or what, but that exercise earlier this week spoke of someone not reading the temperature of the room, or the water if you like.
It made no sense to me. I mean, if you head down to Loch Lomond and you’re going for a game of golf or something, then fine. But to drag them into the water? It’s bonkers material.
I’ve no idea what the squad would have thought of it and, if they didn’t like it, that’s just going to make it worse for Martin.
It’s hard to fathom the situation at this minute at Ibrox. I’ve seen some bad scenarios for managers in the past, yet this is a new level.
To turn a full 50,000 people into singing for you to ‘get tae f**k.’ I’ve never seen it like it in my life, to be honest.
I think there’s always small percentages that don’t rate certain managers or individual players. Pockets within the crowd.
But not the whole stadium thinking the same thing and, worse still, standing up singing that.
Hibs got a raw deal in the cup competitions last season when they got sent to Glasgow in both tournaments to face Celtic on their own patch.
Initially, it might have seemed the same this time around when Rangers came out of the hat on their own patch, but this is now very different on Saturday.
Listen, it’s still a tough draw to go to Ibrox and win, but the circumstances are in their favour. They’re talking about a lot of Rangers supporters not going and they’ve not sold many tickets.
It’s a great opportunity for Hibs, even if, weirdly, I actually think the pressure has now flipped a wee bit and dropped onto David Gray’s side.
Why? Because if you ask Scottish football fans who they fancy to win this game, I think 90 percent of them would say Hibs.
In fact, even the most fervent Rangers supporter is probably thinking we are going to be garbage again and get beat again. That’s unheard of.
Hibs boss David Gray
I’m sure the odd Hibs fans will have it in their own minds that Rangers will turn the corner at some point and we’re just hoping it’s not against us.
I suppose it depends what camp you’re in. The Rangers are due to win a game at some point camp, or the thank God they haven’t sacked their manager before we play them camp.
Personally, I would be in the latter because, like I said, you’ll never get a better time to go and play Rangers. The place is in absolute turmoil .
The Rangers fans that do have tickets, they’re talking about demonstrations before the game, they’re talking about demonstrations of walking out during the game. It can’t be good for the players to see that.
Hibs have still got to go and play well, but it’s a great opportunity to get into the semi-finals at Hampden.
That’s what I mean about the pressure flipped a wee bit onto Hibs, but Hearts showed the way to do it last week.
Get on top of Rangers early with a strong start, put them straight back into stress-mode, get the first goal and send the place into meltdown again.
That was the template for Derek McInnes’ team and they carried it out perfectly. Hibs can do the same thing and make it another horrible event for the home fans.
And, if Gray’s team get the win and make it to Hampden, I think that’ll be the last straw for Martin and he’ll have as much spare time in the coming weeks as he wants to go paddling in Loch Lomond or anywhere else he fancies.