Rangers held 1-1 at St Mirren: Pressure builds on Russell Martin after another slip

Rangers stall again in Paisley

The win Russell Martin badly needs still won’t come. A gritty St Mirren display and a late equaliser from teenager Findlay Curtis left it 1-1 in Paisley, stretching Rangers’ winless league start to three matches for the first time since 1989 and deepening the scrutiny on the new manager ahead of a pivotal week on two fronts.

This was a match that underlined where Rangers are right now: ideas without enough incision, possession without enough punch, pressure without the killer moment. They trailed on 33 minutes to a sharp counter finished by Jonah Ayunga, rallied after the break with a switch to a back three, then rescued a point through 18-year-old Curtis, who struck confidently just minutes after coming on. The push for a winner never quite broke St Mirren’s resolve.

Martin’s selection was the first talking point. With Cyriel Dessers unavailable and the Old Firm derby looming, he surprised the away end by starting playmaker Thelo Aasgaard as a makeshift centre-forward, leaving natural strikers Danilo and Hamza Igamane on the bench. It was a roll of the dice aimed at adding fluidity and an extra passer high up the pitch. The risk was obvious: would there be enough penalty-box presence?

Early on, Rangers produced moments rather than momentum. Lyall Cameron lashed over from close range when a calmer touch was needed. Aasgaard, lively between the lines, forced a stunning save from Shamal George, who flung out a strong hand to claw away what looked a certain goal. But St Mirren were disciplined, organised, and waiting to spring.

The opener came exactly that way. A Rangers attack broke down, St Mirren transitioned in two passes, and Ayunga was away. He showed composure, striding clear and finishing across Jack Butland. The goal matched the tone of the half: the hosts were compact and physical, the visitors tidy but a yard slow to dangerous spaces. At the interval, pundit Kris Boyd didn’t sugarcoat it, branding Rangers “powder-puff, slow and with zero energy.”

Martin reacted. The shape flipped to a back three to push the wing-backs higher and pin St Mirren deeper. The change brought instant territorial gain: more bodies in the final third, quicker recycling, and better angles for crosses. With time running down, the manager went to his bench for punch—and got it. Curtis, an 18-year-old with zero fear and good timing, pounced to drive in the equaliser, his third of the season. The away end finally had a spark to feed off.

From there it felt like a siege without a breakthrough. St Mirren dropped even deeper, crowding the box and clearing their lines with conviction. George came strong for crosses, defenders threw themselves in front of shots, and Rangers could not turn pressure into points. For St Mirren, it was a plan executed; for Rangers, another day of perspiration with too little inspiration.

• 33’ — Jonah Ayunga finishes a rapid counter to put St Mirren 1-0 up.
• 78’ — Findlay Curtis, on as a substitute, drills a low equaliser for 1-1.

What it means for Martin—and what must change fast

Three league games, three draws, and the worst start in a generation is not the kind of history any new manager wants. Martin has just three wins from his first nine games, and the context makes it sting more: Celtic arrive at Ibrox next weekend with a chance to open a nine-point gap if results keep sliding, and there’s a season-shaping European tie before that. Club Brugge come to Glasgow with a 3-1 lead from the first leg. The margin for error is thin.

Let’s be fair: there were glimmers here. The shift to a back three improved Rangers immediately, and the bench offered energy. Curtis took his chance with the conviction many senior players lacked. The ball moved quicker after half-time; the press bit a little harder; the team looked more balanced with width coming from deeper. But a pattern keeps popping up—Rangers need too many touches to build speed, and when they finally reach the edge of the box, the final ball doesn’t match the buildup.

Selection is under the microscope. Starting Aasgaard up top was bold, maybe too clever for a team searching for rhythm not novelty. The logic—win the ball higher, knit play, overload midfield—was clear. The cost was equally clear: fewer natural runs across the near post, fewer instinctive striker movements, and defenders comfortable stepping out to intercept. With Danilo and Igamane waiting, that call will be contested until Rangers start scoring early.

In moments like Ayunga’s goal, you also see why Martin talks constantly about “rest defence”—how the team is positioned when they have the ball. When Rangers lost it, their cover wasn’t set, and St Mirren cut through the middle too easily. It’s less about possession numbers and more about what happens in the transitions. The best sides compress the field and foul the move at source. Too often, Rangers chase back and hope Butland bails them out.

Give St Mirren credit. This wasn’t smash-and-grab; it was a smart, disciplined plan. They narrowed the pitch without the ball, funnelled play wide, and forced crosses they could attack. Ayunga gave them an outlet to breathe, and George produced the save of the match in the first half to deny Aasgaard. If you’re the home dressing room, you’re proud of how you took the sting out of a bigger budget and bigger expectation.

For Martin, though, the conversation keeps circling back to urgency and identity. What is this team going to be week in, week out? The second-half shape helped because it simplified roles: wing-backs high, two inside forwards close to goal, one midfielder breaking lines instead of three swapping zones. The temptation now is to stick with that against Brugge and Celtic. The risk is that it only works if the wing-backs deliver quality and the back line handles counters better than it did for the opener.

Personnel will decide plenty. If Dessers is still out, one of Danilo or Igamane needs to start as a focal point. Aasgaard can still help from deeper, where his passing matters most. Curtis has earned more minutes; his timing in the box looks natural, and he doesn’t carry the weight of recent misses. Beyond that, Rangers need more from whoever plays off the striker: cleaner first touches, bravery to shoot early, and runs that disturb centre-halves rather than letting them see the game in front of them.

The data heads will point to territorial dominance and reasonable chance creation; the scoreboard doesn’t care. The details are missing: the first-time cross that catches a line shifting, the disguised through ball when a centre-back steps, the set-piece delivery that hits a head rather than the first man. These are fixable. They require clarity in the plan and accountability in picks—no passengers, no experiments for the sake of it, not this week.

There’s also the human side. New managers talk about “buy-in,” and results drive belief. Martin’s touchline body language in the second half—animated, proactive, not resigned—was a small sign he knows the edges to push. The dressing room will respond to clear roles and a steadier selection. The crowd will respond to tempo and bite. The only cure for the noise around his job is wins, and they have to come now.

St Mirren leave with a point that feels like a plan validated. Rangers leave with a point that feels like a warning. Brugge midweek is about survival in Europe; Celtic at the weekend is about the season’s direction. Martin has talked about standards since day one. This is the week those words need substance: quicker transitions, a striker leading the line, and a performance that shuts down counters at the source. The table won’t wait.