Ally McCoist: Rangers manager Russell Martin must explain Nico Raskin stance

Ally McCoist has told embattled Rangers manager Russell Martin he must explain to bewildered supporters why he is not selecting Nico Raskin.

The Belgium midfielder was Gers’ player of the year last term but has become a peripheral figure under Martin this season and has been omitted from the squad entirely for the last two matches against Celtic and Hearts.

Supporters sang Raskin’s name during Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by the Jambos, but Martin, who has hinted at being unable to “trust” the 24-year-old, has declined to fully clarify the reasons for his banishment from the team.

McCoist says it is imperative the manager either makes an effort to build bridges with the former Standard Liege player or reveals exactly why he is refusing to select him.

“Now, there’s obviously a problem with Raskin, there’s no doubt about that, something’s happened,” Rangers’ record goal-scorer said on talkSPORT. “But from where I’m sitting, you cannot bite your nose off to spite your face.

“If you’ve got a problem with Raskin, and he clearly has, I think he’s got to let the public know what that problem is, because we’re all sitting there watching that game at the weekend, and Raskin walks into that team.

“He scored for Belgium during the week, so there’s nobody on the planet going to tell me that Raskin should not be in the Rangers starting XI. Why is he not in the starting XI?

“There has to be an incredible reason for it, because you can’t leave him out. You can’t leave him out if it’s to the detriment of the team. The team’s the most important thing, not an individual problem between a manager and a player.”

Martin has been granted a stay of execution by Rangers’ board, despite overseeing the club’s worst start to a league campaign in 47 years, with four draws and a defeat in the first five William Hill Premiership games leaving Gers in 10th place.

The 39-year-old has won only three of his 12 games in charge so far and McCoist is not convinced the squad assembled at Ibrox this summer has the mentality to ride out the current storm engulfing them.

“Rangers and Celtic are fantastic places to play when things are going well, but they are unbelievably difficult places to play when things aren’t going well,” said the 62-year-old.

“My concern with Rangers at this moment in time, or one of my concerns, is things are not going well, the supporters can make that place an unbelievably difficult place to play. I’m looking at the mettle and the make-up of the squad and I’m not sure it can handle it, to be honest with you.

“They were well beaten at the weekend by a good, well-organised Hearts team.

“It would be wrong of me not to mention horrendous refereeing decisions, and VAR decisions, horrendous, which we saw again at the weekend, but don’t let that overshadow the fact Rangers have been really poor.”