Philippe Clement faces ‘no-win’ situation at Rangers – Chris Jack
Chris Jack has suggested that Philippe Clement is facing a “no-win” situation at Ibrox as Rangers prepare for a few weeks which shape their season.
The Belgian has got off to a perfect start in Glasgow winning all of his matches in the Scottish Premiership, remaining unbeaten in the Europa League and seeing his side advance to the Viaplay Cup final, but it is still early days.
With the Viaplay Cup final, an Old Firm clash and 11 matches between now and the New Year, Jack believes that the next month of fixtures could well determine the remainder of Clement’s tenure at Ibrox.
Writing for Rangers Review (22 November) he said: “This upcoming sequence, which starts with a potentially tricky trip to face Aberdeen on Sunday, is almost a no-win situation for Clement.
“He knows that any slip-ups could well spell the end of Rangers’ title ambitions, but winning each match on its merits is merely a case of his side doing what they should be doing given their resources and targets this term.
“If a handful of points are dropped and ground is lost in the Premiership before the Old Firm, there is a chance the second derby of the term could fall into that relatively meaningless category as well. The goal for Rangers is to keep within striking range and then pounce at Parkhead.
“So far the Belgian has more than matched expectations during an opening month – but it’s the next number of weeks which will truly shape his first season.
Shape a tenure
There is a school of thinking that Michael Beale was always going to be doomed at Rangers after he failed to lift a single piece of silverware during his first season in charge in Glasgow and Clement has an excellent chance to get that monkey off his back immediately.
The Viaplay Cup alone could be crucial to Rangers’ season as should they lift a single piece of silverware, it will be viewed as an improvement compared to the disaster last term, but continuing the good form in Europe and the Premiership could be as important.
Winning those matches in the Scottish Premiership won’t earn Clement much praise as Jack suggested, but as Rangers manager, it is expected that your side should win and dominate every match and competition that you enter.
In a month’s time, the Light Blues could be Viaplay Cup winners, in the Europa League knockout stages and well and truly in a title race, anything less than that and it will be considered a failure and the tide could well turn on Clement after an exceptional start.
In other Rangers news, Stephen McGinn has tipped Todd Cantwell to be one of a couple of high-profile Ibrox exits this January