Sky Sports has reported on under-fire Rangers manager Philippe Clement following the dismal loss to Queen’s Park.
The Light Blues’ 1-0 defeat in the Scottish Cup on Sunday sent shockwaves around Glasgow, as Clement’s team’s last realistic chance of domestic silverware went up in flames after a poor performance.
After losing the League Cup final on penalties to Celtic and trailing their Old Firm rivals by 13 points in the Premiership league, a “unacceptable” fifth-round Scottish Cup defeat may mean the end for Clement.
Clement sees the Gers’ progress on the continent as a silver lining, since they have already advanced to the Europa League final 16 after finishing in the top eight of the league phase.
However, it remains to be seen if Clement will be given the opportunity to see the campaign through.
Gordon Duncan offers Philippe Clement’s sack report at Rangers.
On Sky Sports News (10 February, 10:00am), Duncan was asked about Clement’s future at Ibrox.
“In the eyes of the fans he is under immense pressure – he already was really, this season there’s been so many disappointments,” says Duncan.
“It’s a league title that Rangers had already lost, they lost the League Cup final, and their road record has been dismal. In any case, Philippe Clement came under increasing strain.
“If there was any remaining support within the fan base, it feels like it vanished yesterday due to the magnitude of the shame.
“Patrick Stewart offered a briefing a few weeks ago when he backed Philippe Clement, but he stated he couldn’t offer cast-iron pledges that would hold true if the outcomes changed.
“Yesterday was tremendous; no one saw it coming. There was a very heated reaction in the stands at Ibrox, on social media, and among every Rangers supporter you spoke to.
“You just wonder how much longer Philippe Clement can survive this negativity.”
Philippe Clement is clearly on borrowed time at Rangers.
For much that the Gers board has backed Clement to finish the season at Ibrox, losing at home against lower-league opponents for the first time in club history puts the Belgian in an unsustainable situation.
Clement can refer to his players failing to execute the tactical ideas he develops week in and week out, but given that this isn’t the first time the Bears have been ineffective at home, his time is running out.
Their form away from Ibrox has frequently been the emphasis this term – and quite deservedly so given how terrible it’s been at times – but performances on home soil haven’t matched the regular results achieved.
That strength consistently has now been thrown out the window in the shape of Sunday’s humbling Scottish Cup defeat, leaving Clement with only the Europa League as a prize his side can hope to win.
Qualifying for the top eight (out of 36 teams) is an outstanding feat, but against the backdrop of widespread domestic underachievement, Clement will need more than European achievements to preserve his job.
Clement’s rebuilding efforts have yielded some results this season, but given how few green shoots there have been, it’s worth thinking if another manager – albeit not Steven Gerrard – could get more out of these players.
