The Premier Sports Cup quarter-final match between Rangers and Hibernian at Ibrox tonight was not included on season tickets and that undoubtedly contributed to the significantly reduced turnout of just 34,682.

But it told a story about how unhappy Bears are just now following their dire start to the season that so few supporters should file through the turnstiles for such an important fixture.

The pre-match demonstration outside the main entrance of the Bill Struth Stand around an hour before kick-off was, in stark contrast, very well-attended.

What must manager Martin and his charges have felt as they sat in the home dressing room and prepared for the last eight tie as hundreds, thousands even, of their own followers vented their spleen vocally just yards away on Edmiston Drive?

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The angry gathering, which was organised by the Union Bears ultras group, highlighted the strength of ill feeling which there is about the former Scotland internationalist being in charge of the Glasgow giants.

The man who appointed him back in June, Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart, was not spared their wrath either.

A banner was unfurled which read, “Take Aim Against Stewart and Martin” and their were chants of “Martin, Martin, get to f***” and “Patrick Stewart, get out of our club” for the best part of an hour.

Two older fans who were standing some distance away from the throng  were unimpressed with what they were witnessing. “Take aim?” said one. “That’s not in very good taste given recent events in the world.” His friend wanted the club to take action against the agitators. “It’s an absolute disgrace,” he said. “The club should ban every single one of them. Whatever happened to supporting the team?”

But Victor and Jack were very much in the minority. Crashing out of the Champions League with a 9-1 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge and going five games in the William Hill Premiership without prevailing has not gone down well down Govan way.

(Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

The 97th minute winner that Callum Jones scored for Dundee in their 3-2 triumph over Livingston at Dens Park this afternoon saw Rangers slip below their Tayside rivals and down to 11th place in the top flight table before kick-off. That did nothing to lift the mood in the camp.

Martin was booed as he took his place in the dugout when Simply the Best was being blasted out over the public address system. There were more renditions of “Martin, Martin, get to f***” as well as a lusty chorus of “Nico Raskin” in the very first minute.

Those who were wearing red, white and blue scarves around the ground held up Martin and Stewart no entry signs as James Tavernier and his team mates attempted to halt their slump in form and book a semi-final date at Hampden.

Just when it seemed like things had calmed down a little, the members of the Union Bears, who are billeted in the middle of the Copland Stand these days, hurled dozens of colourful balls onto the pitch and into the Rangers penalty box.

Referee Nick Walsh halted play when he eventually spotted them and ground staff and goalkeeper spent a couple of minutes clearing them off the pitch. The bizarre episode left onlookers wondering what on earth was going to happen next.

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Hibs appeared to take the lead when play resumed. Martin Boyle controlled a Dylan Levitt through ball, outspirinted Derek Cornelius and steered a shot beyond Butland and into the bottom left corner of the net. The 2,500 or so travelling supporters who were sandwiched between the Broomloan Stand and Sandy Jardine Stand went mental.  

But their joy proved short-lived. A VAR check by Andrew Dallas and Kevin Clancy over at Clydesdale House showed that Boyle had handled during the build-up to his strike and Walsh disallowed it. The decision spared Martin a fresh barrage of abuse    

Rangers had shown no evidence they had turned a corner or found their form up until that point in proceedings. Their play had been completely uninspired. But two goals in the space of five minutes before half-time suddenly lifted Ibrox.

Raskin, who was restored to the starting line-up for the first time since a fallout with his manager, netted a glancing header at a Tavernier corner to end over 300 minutes without a goal. Bojan Miovski then opened his account for the club he joined in a £4.5m transfer before the window closed with an opportunistic close-range effort.

The hosts were cheered down the tunnel. Djeidi Gassama hit the crossbar with an attempt from distance and Miovski had a shot cleared off the line by Hibs and Scotland centre-half Hanley in the second half. But those decent passages of play did nothing to placate the rabble rousers.

(Image: Andrew Milligan)

Banners which read “Delaying the inevitable – Martin out” and “Quick to blame fans slow to admit failure – Stewart out” were held up by the Union Bears.

They have clearly not forgiven the bans and condemnation which the former Manchester United official meted out after their ill-considered “Woke foreign ideologies” banner and controversial “Take aim at the rebel scum” tifo last season.

Andrew Cavenagh, the American healthcare tycoon who bought control of Rangers along with 49ers Enterprises earlier this year, was at Ibrox to take in the Hibs cup game. He is, having seen his side go safely through, very unlikely to take any action. But has Martin simply secured a stay of execution?

When Raskin was replaced by Nedim Bajrami late on he briefly embraced his manager in the technical area. Russell Martin has much work still to do if he is to wheedle his way back into the affection of supporters.