Rangers manager Philippe Clement finds himself under increasing pressure to keep his job at Ibrox and journalist John McGarry has provided his take on the situation.
Another poor result for Rangers & Clement
The Gers dropped two more precious points in the Scottish Premiership title race on Sunday afternoon, following a disappointing 2-2 draw away to Motherwell. They were 2-0 down at half-time, and while they produced a spirited comeback, it didn’t mask the fact that Clement’s side weren’t good enough on the day.
The draw means that Rangers are now 14 points behind Celtic, prior to hosting their biggest rivals on Thursday, with points dropped in seven out of their 18 league games so far this season.
For Clement, there is mounting pressure on his shoulders, with a chunk of the Gers’ fanbase unconvinced that he is the right man for the job, but he was bullish about his future after the Motherwell game, saying: “No, I’m not concerned about that because I’m only busy with the team.
“And we knew before the season what a challenging project it would be. It’s difficult to speak about that because you will not understand and people outside maybe will not understand but there has been an evolution made.”
Journalist drops Clement sack claim at Rangers
Writing for The Scottish Daily Mail on Monday [via Ibrox News], McGarry explained that he feels Rangers could have sacked Clement had they lost at Motherwell, saying the display will have changed his chances of leaving from “possibility” to “probability”.
“So wretched were the visitors, that the prospect of Clement being relieved of his duties before Celtic come to Ibrox on Thursday seemed not so much a possibility, as a probability.”
While clearly just McGarry’s opinion, it is hard to argue against what he says, and it does further show what a tightrope Clement is walking on currently. The Belgian deserves an element of credit for ensuring his players fought back and earned a point at Motherwell, but the display in the opening 45 minutes was not even close to level expected at Ibrox.
At this point, there does seem like an inevitability about Clement’s future, in terms of being a case of when he is sacked, rather than if. For his sake, he needs a huge performance from his side against Celtic at Ibrox later this week, and should Rangers lose at home to their bitter adversaries, especially a heavy loss, the 50-year-old may have officially reached the point of no return.
That’s not to say that there aren’t aspects of the job that Clement has impressed in, with the Gers sitting eighth in the Europa League table and looking like they could reach the knockout rounds automatically, but big improvements are needed domestically.
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Rangers title hopes appear to be over after more dropped points in the Premiership
ByRoss KilvingtonDec 30, 2024
Rangers were always second favourites heading into the new league season, but the manner in which they have allowed Celtic to open up such a huge lead is not good enough, and it feels dangerously close to being fatal for the manager.
