Chris Sutton admits ‘Sympathy’ for Phillipe Clement after ‘Serious Setbacks’ for Rangers
Chris Sutton believes the Scottish Cup semi-finals could have an impact on the SPFL title race for Rangers and Celtic.
Both clubs compete at Hampden Park this weekend to compete for a place in the Scottish Cup final next month, with the title race heating up with just five games remaining and three points between the sides.
Celtic won their game 6-5 on penalties against Aberdeen following a 3-3 draw after extra-time having led twice, while Rangers will face Hearts on Sunday (21 April).
And writing in his column for the Daily Record (20 April) before the games, the Sky Sports pundit admitted that he feels “sympathy” for Philippe Clement after the team’s recent setbacks because he was over-performing with this squad, but feels a change in fortunes in the cup could see the title race swing back around.
“I can’t help but feel this weekend is going to be huge in terms of the title race as well,” he wrote.
“In some ways Hampden is a distraction for Celtic and Rangers. For Brendan Rodgers and Celtic, they will be itching to get back to league duty to pile more pressure on Rangers. For Philippe Clement and his side, they badly need to get back on track after suffering some serious setbacks of late.
“There will be pressure on both of them but you’ve got to feel it’s been cranked up another level on Rangers. If they don’t get past Hearts on Sunday there could be a huge knock-on effect to their league campaign, already badly faltering.
“Those traits are in short supply at Ibrox right now. Clement is showing signs Glasgow is starting to get to him. I have a degree of sympathy for Clement. He probably over-performed with the squad at his disposal, but we are now seeing them revert to type.”
Rangers momentum is key in the title race
The title race this season in the SPFL has been absolutely wild with Rangers coming back from the dead only to then bottle the lead in recent weeks.
But Sutton is right that a change in fortunes in the cup could have a huge effect going forward, with momentum so huge, and a big game between the two Old Firm clubs still to come.
Should Rangers get past Hearts in a difficult game at Hampden then the belief may return, and especially after the way Celtic scraped past Aberdeen on penalties.
He’s also correct that Clement has massively overachieved with the current group of players because most Ibrox fans will admit that a lot of the players aren’t good enough for what the team should be pushing for.
Ultimately the title race is not over, regardless of what overly pessimistic or optimistic fans believe, but the players now need to stop the narrative of reverting to type and start pushing on again after this blip.
In other Rangers news, one star has told Ibrox chiefs he wants to leave this summer.
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