Underwhelming. Predictable. Disillusioned. Out with a whimper. No belief. Ran out of ideas.

Those disparaging words tumbled out of the mouths of several former Rangers players inside Ibrox on Thursday after the Europa League defeat by Genk – a fourth in their past seven games under Russell Martin.

There was no relish within what they said. Not even much anger. Just sadness, regret and frustration.

Even the ever-ebullient Ally McCoist was subdued.

“The manager is in big trouble,” the club’s legendary former striker and manager said on TNT Sports in the aftermath of the 1-0 loss.

“Something has to change, and change dramatically. This can’t go on for long. If people around the stadium don’t support you, there’s no point.

“I’m desperate for Russell Martin to turn things around but it looks miles off it.”

When he fielded questions after the defeat, it sounded for the first time that Martin perhaps doubted his repeated insistence that better days lie ahead.

His “we’re not far away” mantra was there, but it wasn’t delivered in the usual bullish tone. Instead, the Rangers head coach was was short, snippy and sombre.

Despite his ability to pick out positive individual performances – which left pundits and punters perplexed – there was a hint that he knew things were slipping away.

This was another night when Rangers caused their own problems. A reckless red card. Scant creativity. A lack of impetus. Poor defending.

Had it not been for Jack Butland, the scoreline might have read something more similar to when they last faced a Belgian side.

Martin had insisted Rangers would “attack” this competition. But his side registered just two shots on target and had 13 touches in their visitors’ penalty area.

He claimed they were “in Genk’s box a lot, had good control and were aggressive” – a statement that took aback former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday.

“I’m surprised he said Rangers were aggressive,” the Motherwell midfielder said on Sportsound. “I didn’t see aggression and I certainly didn’t see them create chances.”

Steven Thompson, who was alongside Halliday at Ibrox, admitted there was a tone of “acceptance” in Martin’s unconvincing message.

“There was a lack of energy in his press conference,” the former Ibrox striker said. “You could feel that it was getting to him.

“There was an acceptance there, he knows he’s under pressure. How long are we going to keep hearing ‘we’re going to get there’ for?”

Martin is not being helped by some of his players, either.

Against Genk, it was Mohamed Diomande, whose “sheer stupidity” – in the words of former Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson – hampered his side’s hopes of building any sort of momentum from their weekend win against Hibs.

The midfielder’s needless first-half red card – a third in Martin’s first 14 games – knocked the stuffing out of an already struggling Rangers.

But, in truth, they were huffing and puffing before that moment of madness made life even more difficult.

Martin said his side were in control early on, but many would argue otherwise given Genk’s quick start and the penetrative runs of Zakaria El Ouahdi, in particular.

What left former Ibrox players amid the punditocracy most troubled was Rangers’ apparent lack of belief in themselves.

There was no fast start. There was no rolling up of the sleeves when their team-mate trotted off. There was no final push for a point. It was all just… meh.

“It’s a struggle,” Ferguson said on Sportsound during the game. “I know they’re down to 10 men but with 10, you can still always find a way.

“It’s as if Rangers players don’t believe there is a way back into this game.”

In the final five minutes, Rangers had a few near things, but nothing that troubled Genk goalkeeper Hendrik Van Crombrugge.

“Players are looking at each other asking, ‘what do we do?’,” added Thompson. “It looks like they’ve run out of ideas. Everything is so laborious and predictable.

“It frustrates the life out of the supporters and they don’t enjoy what they’re watching.”

Europa League nights have so often brought solace and soothed any domestic difficulties suffered by Rangers in recent seasons.

But Thursday never felt like it was going to be one of those explosive evenings.

Instead of excitement and electricity there was apathy and angst. Instead of being greeted by a bellowing sea of blue, swathes of empty seats greeted the players as they emerged from the tunnel.

Martin concedes only positive results will bring about change. Fans who have made their minds up were given nothing to persuade them to think again.

When BBC Scotland, asked fans for their views, very few were complimentary of the head coach.

Sam: Watching Martin’s interview. He never apologised to the fans that paid good money, he shrugged off questions and started waffling. His excuses are running dry and we don’t want to hear them anymore. Do the decent thing and pack your bags.

Robert: Martin has been given chance after chance, but the football is absolutely terrible and if there isn’t a change the support will walk away.

Seb: Insipid stuff. Lack of belief, no clear plan, possession for possession sake, open to almost every counter attack and no cutting edge up front. Best way to sum up the team and management is anaemic. Bereft of anything positive.

Mark: Until the new owners face facts and realise they made a mistake hiring Martin, I’ll refuse to follow or watch Rangers. We used to be a club feared – not anymore. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were relegated, that’s how shocking we are.

Sally: The players are there. They are not being managed. Possession is only of value if it is played to forwards. Tavernier needs to realise other players can take corners and free-kicks. He consistently left the defence exposed.

Duncan: Another overall poor performance by what can only be described as a mediocre Rangers team. Lack of any bite, cohesion and, it appears. any plan. Martin surely cannot be allowed to continue to embarrass a club that demands much more.