Philippe Clement is facing a “inevitable” firing at Rangers after his side lost the Scottish Cup to Queens Park.
The Gers fielded a heavily rotated squad at Ibrox and were stunned when Seb Drozd’s 69th-minute strike proved to be the game-winner on Sunday (9 February).
James Tavernier may have sealed the Belgian’s fate when goalie Calum Ferrie saved his penalty attempt in the dying moments of the match.
Nonetheless, what happened over 90 minutes in front of a bewildered Ibrox crowd could be the final nail in Clement’s coffin at Rangers.
Philippe Clement is ‘over’ at Ibrox.
The Belgian has been a divisive character at the Gers during what has been a dismal season.
He has been at the focus of a well-documented schism between the Ibrox club and its supporters following a series of planned protests directed at the under-fire manager in recent weeks.
Nonetheless, the shocking Scottish Cup elimination has pushed the fandom to breaking point, with Four Lads going to X (9 February) to vent their displeasure at Clement.
“[It] doesn’t matter when it occurs; it should now be expected. Philippe Clement’s time as Rangers manager is up; no one should survive that, especially with little credit in the bank. “Get him out.
After all the ups and downs that the Rangers faithful have endured with the boss throughout the course of the season – losing against a Scottish Championship side at Ibrox must be the final straw for Clement.
Rangers must listen to the supporters and sack Clement
While there has been plenty of encouraging news to report recently, notably the Gers’ “huge” feat of finishing in the top eight of the Europa League, there is no turning back for the manager this time around.
However, given the level of opponents left in Europe’s second-tier league, the Light Blues are unlikely to emulate their 2022 final participation under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
As a result, the Scottish Cup represented the final glimmer of hope for the Gers to finish the 2024/25 season with a trophy.
How many times must Clement demonstrate that he is no longer the long-term solution to restoring Ibrox to its former glory?
The 13-point gap to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership is a harsh reminder of his abilities, and the penalty shootout loss in the Scottish League Cup final to their Glaswegian rivals is proof enough that no challenge to the Hoops is feasible under the current manager.
By no stretch of the imagination could the loss at home to Queens Park be tolerated without serious consequences – play that game 100 times, and the hosts should win 99 times.
Even the most hopeful supporter cannot rationalize Clement spending the rest of the season at Ibrox, but history shows that the board will do just that.
Not this time; he simply has to leave.
