With shock defeat against Scottish Championship side Queen’s Park only continuing a season to forget for Rangers, one insider has now shared when the Gers could decide to show Philippe Clement the door.
Rangers shocked by Queen’s Park
To say it’s been a nightmare campaign for Clement would be an understatement. His side showed plenty of promise when he took over last season, before a mini overhaul failed to go to plan and left the Gers a world away from runaway leaders Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Having already suffered heartbreak against their rivals in the Scottish League Cup final earlier in the campaign, Rangers turned towards the Scottish Cup in a bid to salvage things. On paper, Clement’s side had a routine day ahead against Scottish Championship side Queen’s Park with Ibrox expecting a swift victory before it was all eyes on the draw.
In reality, however, those at Ibrox got anything but a routine victory. Instead, they were shell-shocked by underdogs Queen’s Park, who snatched a 1-0 win of their own courtesy of Sebastian Drozd’s effort from the bench.
The drama didn’t stop there though, with Calum Ferrie soon becoming the hero of the hour when he saved James Tavernier’s stoppage-time penalty to seal a famous day for his side.
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Those at Ibrox, meanwhile, have been left to mull over a disastrous afternoon and have now set a date when they could sack Clement.
When Rangers could sack Clement
According to former scout Mick Brown, Rangers could sack Clement if his side fall to defeat in the Europa League. The Gers will face one of Anderlecht, Bodo/Glomt, Fenerbahce or FC Twente in the last 16 as their manager looks to once again save his job.
Brown told Football Insider: “His positions at Rangers always looks vulnerable to me. You’re always at risk as a manager when results aren’t going your way. They qualified for the next round of the Europa League, and that might be his get out of jail free card which keeps him in the job for now.
“But if they lose their next game in Europe, then I expect he will be sacked. They’re 13 points behind Celtic, they’ve been knocked out of the Scottish Cup, then if they blow it in Europe too, things aren’t looking good. That’s when these things tend to happen.
“While they’re still in Europe, there’s still an outside bit of hope that they can maybe do something special. But they don’t strike me as a side who can handle pressure, and disaster results like that one against Queens Park don’t surprise me. It always feels like there’s a nightmare around the corner there.”
The big question is just who Rangers will turn to should they decide to show Clement the door. The Scottish giants will be back to square one after moulding their side in the Belgian’s identity last summer.
Already so far behind Celtic too, Rangers cannot afford to get their next decision wrong – whether that’s sacking Clement or turning towards a fresh appointment.
