The word is that a growing number of Rangers fans have had enough of manager Philippe Clement. A pitiful display at Celtic Park earlier in the season where they lost three nil was quickly followed by a Europa League hammering by four goals to one at Ibrox against Lyon. League defeats to both Kilmarnock and Aberdeen on the road have also heaped the pressure on the main man in Govan.
Most, if not all, were astonished when they learned that the Belgian, who joined Rangers in October 2023, was offered an extension to his deal that keeps him at Ibrox until the summer of 2028.
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Can Rangers Afford to Sack Philippe Clement?
Former Player Leads Criticism
Calls for his removal were loud and clear following last midweeks defeat against Aberdeen at Pittodrie that left the Glasgow club nine points adrift of both Celtic and Aberdeen after matchday ten in the Scottish Premiership. The anger is understandable of course but Rangers would do well to bide their time.
Speaking on Sky Sports after coverage of the game, former striker Kris Boyd didn’t hold back. He said: “Trust me, Rangers supporters are sick and tired of your guff and there is no way back. Pittodrie was the final insult for me. To describe it as one of the best performances of the season was genuinely staggering.”
I agree that Clément’s post-match analysis was bizarre, but I would take issue with my good friend Boydy on a couple of points.
Beating Celtic Is the Key for Philippe Clement Acceptance
Watching Rangers go up against reigning Conference League champions Olympiakos in Greece on matchday four of the Europa League showed that Rangers can play at a good level and that Clement is capable of improving this team. Whether it’s enough to compete with a strong, powerful Celtic side is another matter entirely. It’s so important to show that you can get the better of your fiercest rivals and it’s true, they fall flat too often. But if Clement can find a way to beat a dominant Celtic side, that alone shows he’s on the right path.
Financial Leadership And Clarity
I played in a Celtic side that finished fourth in the league under Tommy Burns, a completely unacceptable position to be in. But most fans were patient with Tommy at a difficult time for the club when there was little money to spend. The major reason Tommy continually got the backing of the fans was because he was able to put together a team that played attractive football and crucially, could beat Rangers. Celtic were also led by a remarkable man in Fergus McCann who made every important decision with financial clarity uppermost in his mind. Fergus stuck with Tommy for three years before pulling the trigger on one of Celtic’s favourite sons. Looking back, despite feeling Tommy was on the cusp of getting it right, Fergus made the unpopular but correct decision. Wim Jansen came and immediately delivered the title.
Year on Year Losses Unsustainable
Clement has still to achieve this feat of getting the better of Brendan Rodgers and he has the chance in next month’s final of the League Cup. He must accept that if you keep losing to your bitter rivals, the patience and understanding of the fans wears thin very quickly. What cannot be ignored by any Rangers fan is the very recent and alarming financial results that detailed a £17.2million loss, a rise from £4million in the previous year’s accounts. Posting losses year on year, as Rangers have done, is completely unsustainable and getting rid of another manager and his coaching staff while recruiting someone new with no war chest of cash to identify his own players would be very dangerous.
Various Positions of Authority Missing at Rangers
Normally, in times of crisis at big clubs, the director of football or the chairman or possibly the chief executive would make some sort of statement to address the fans anger and concern. And if a change had to be made, someone in authority behind the scenes would step forward and pull the trigger. But as things stand, Rangers have no one in any of these positions of power or influence to make a call as serious and as financially challenging as sacking the manager.
John Gilligan is the interim chairman at the moment, taking over from John Bennett when he was forced to step away from his role as chairman recently to focus on his health. He must see that Clement, while making some eccentric and puzzling post-match assessments, has something to offer. He handles the criticism well – some of it in the aftermath of the last defeat to Celtic was very personal and outrageous – and he displays an acceptance of the scale of the challenge in front of him.
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Clement Trust Still to Be Won By Fans
Getting into the League cup final after beating Motherwell at Hampden last weekend buys Clement some time but every game brings a sharp focus into how Clements’ side are performing. The display against a strong Olympiacos side was strong and powerful. Seven points from their opening 4 games puts them in a healthy position in the Europa League table. Can they build on this? It’s doubtful the Rangers fans are confident and many would like a change. What any sensible person at Ibrox cannot ignore is the financial consequence of such a big change when just months previously, the official statement from the club was that they believed in Phillippe Clement being the man to take them forward.
Rangers biggest problem is their lack of success in the transfer market. They spend very well in comparison to other Scottish clubs – still way short of what Celtic can afford – but they would do well to follow Fergus McCann’s mantra.
“Don’t do bad deals. Don’t spend £5 million on a £1 million pound player!”
The truth is Rangers have done too many bad deals, it’s why Clement will be given more time.
