Martin seems partial to a U-turn. Is that because he's adaptable... or that he simply has no clue how to fix things at Rangers?

Russell Martin, for all his trials and tribulations, is shaping up to be rather good at one thing as Rangers manager - performing U-turns.

He came out like a whirling dervish in the wake of an atrocious display in that opening-day draw at Motherwell, slaughtering the Self-Preservation Society inside the dressing-room and going on about egos. It was wonderful to witness. A rollicking good rant for the ages.

Since then, though, it has felt like he has been trying to put the genie back in the bottle, claiming his criticisms came from ‘a place of love’ and then turning down the volume in his public pronouncements - to the extent that he pretty much refused to discuss what went on around Nico Raskin’s axe from the Old Firm derby.

He described Kieran Dowell as ‘a beast’ in training and urged fans to stick with the midfielder - only to jettison him from the squad for the Europa League last week.

James Tavernier looked like being phased out of the team when being dumped from the starting line-up for both legs of the Champions League qualifying play-off with Club Brugge.

After returning for Celtic’s visit to Ibrox - when it had become clear that Max Aarons is simply not up to it - Martin came out afterwards to describe Tavernier as ‘immense’ and reveal he had told him in the dressing room that he was right to be annoyed at not being picked previously.

Much was made of Martin’s non-negotiable tactics, his passing game, etc., when he first arrived. Yet, the shape changed in midfield when his back was to the wall in the Old Firm clash and the team went more direct.

Will he go back to his wide midfielders and Joe Rothwell for the all-important visit of Hearts at the weekend? It’s going to be hugely interesting to see.

Of course, there’s the small matter of these showdown talks with sporting director Kevin Thelwell and Raskin to deal with too.

Let’s just say the clever money is on the little Belgian being back in the mix before long. If nothing else, he really has to be playing if you want to cash in on him in January, say.

There are two ways to look at all this flip-flopping, of course. You could say Martin is a man willing to be adaptable, to consider all solutions, to mould himself in the moment as he deals with the challenges in front of him.

You could also say it reeks of a bloke who hardly knows what way is up any longer and doesn’t really know how to fix it. Take your pick.