Rangers face Brugge with need for comeback

Rangers defender John Souttar urges collective accountability and defenses the manager after a heavy home loss to Club Brugge in a Champions League playoff.

Souttar backs Rangers unity after Brugge defeat

Rangers were beaten 3-1 by Club Brugge at Ibrox in the Champions League playoff first leg. Brugge crashed in three goals inside 20 minutes, and Rangers were booed off as the game ended, leaving them with a difficult challenge ahead in Brugge for the return leg. The result adds pressure on manager Russell Martin as the team prepares for a daunting away tie.

Souttar publicly defended Martin and called for everyone at the club to share the blame. He insisted it is unfair to single out the coach and urged the squad to start better, defend more solidly, and be on the front foot in Belgium. He also pointed to past European away successes as a source of belief, underscoring a need to translate that faith into action in the second leg.

The defender’s stance frames the issue as a wider club problem, not just managerial fault. That approach could buy Martin time but risks masking deeper issues around squad cohesion and defensive discipline. If Rangers fail to tighten up in Brugge, the tie could become a reputational setback that bleeds into fan sentiment and board scrutiny. The match also spotlights whether the club can sustain European intensity after a rocky domestic start, choosing pressure over excuses as they chase a comeback.

Going forward, the scale of the challenge will test how the club manages expectations. Unity on the pitch must match unity in public messages; the next 90 minutes will reveal whether Rangers can convert a combative second half into a springboard for the season or whether the disappointment becomes a turning point in Martin’s tenure.

Highlights

European nights at Ibrox have betrayed Rangers before; this time the test is whether the team can translate belief into a near-impossible comeback.