Sturm Graz boss Jurgen Saumel convinced Rangers will come good with time

Sturm Graz boss Jurgen Saumel believes Rangers should expect their players to step up their performances after the amount of investment in the squad.

The Govan club have spent a reported £20million on refurbishing Russell Martin’s squad but their start to the season has been so alarming that the vast majority of fans have firmly turned on the former Southampton boss.

The Light Blues boss was again targeted by frustrated supporters despite beating Livingston 2-1 in West Lothian with a dramatic late winner on Sunday for their first William Hill Premiership victory of the season.

Rangers are eighth in the league with seven points – nine behind Hearts and seven behind Old Firm rivals Celtic – and were knocked out of the Champions League play-off by Club Brugge with a humiliating 9-1 aggregate defeat.

Speaking with the help of an interpreter at the Merkur Arena ahead of their Europa League clash on Thursday night, Saumel over-egged Rangers’ spending as he gave his analysis of the Light Blues but was keen to stress the “serious” money spent.

He said: “Obviously there have been a lot of new players coming into the team.

“They have spent a serious amount of money on the squad and it is to be expected that when a new coach comes in it will take a bit of time.

“I think there is a big difference between facing them in the league and facing them in Europe.

“You saw, for example, when they faced Panathinaikos they were able to get a convincing win.

“It is true that in the league their results haven’t been as impressive but I watched their game against Livingston and they could easily have scored four or five goals.

“I think they have a lot of individual quality in the squad and when a new manager comes in often teams require those players to step up with the individual quality that they have.

“Sixty million has been invested in the Rangers squad and that does make a big difference, obviously.

“If you look at the players they have brought into the team, they have over 250 Premier League appearances within that squad.

“They will definitely compete at a good level in Europe but my squad, my team, our club, we competed in the Champions League last season so we have a lot of belief.

“There is a lot possible for us in this competition playing at our stadium and we are excited about that.”

Sturm Graz lost 2-0 to Midtjylland in their Europa League opener with Rangers losing 1-0 to Genk at Ibrox.