Rangers told Philippe Clement call has ‘massively backfired’ as Chris Sutton shares sack verdict
Chris Sutton has told Rangers that their decision to hand Philippe Clement a new contract has “massively backfired” in a new sack verdict.
The Light Blues were well beaten in the first Old Firm derby of the season on Sunday (1 September) as Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side ran out 3-0 winners at Parkhead.
Clement is still yet to win a match against his Glasgow rivals and while the Gers board handed him a new contract to show some unity at the club, Sutton believes the pressure may now be on the Belgian.
Speaking on It’s All Kicking Off (2 September, 30:35) he said: “I think he’s seriously under the pump now.
“The most unbelievable thing in all of this is the day before the start of the season he signed a new deal. Think about that. I think it was a mistake Rangers to give him the contract, Rangers were trying to show this togetherness at the start of the season and that everything was ok by giving him that deal.
“I think that at this moment in time, it has massively backfired. Rangers have no choice but to stick with Philippe Clement because they can’t keep having massive overhauls.
“I’m saying all this, but if they don’t get a result or two in the next couple of games, I think they’re away at Dundee United next. If they don’t get a result then there’s going to be a lot of angry Bears out there and Clement will certainly be under the pump.”
Will Rangers sack Philippe Clement after Old Firm loss v Celtic at Parkhead?
The Gers’ decision to hand Clement a new contract certainly raised plenty of eyebrows at the time, but after the Old Firm defeat it seems even more baffling from both a Light Blues and Celtic perspective.
Clement has brought plenty of good to Ibrox in his first year in charge and for the most part, performances have been better than when Micheal Beale was in charge, but the original problems still remain.
Every time the Light Blues step foot on the pitch against Celtic, they look massively inferior and on the rare occasions that they do play well, they still manage to throw the game away and hand their rivals all three points.
That may not be Clement’s fault and there are certainly bigger issues present at the football club, but it makes it even more confusing that he was given a new contract.
His previous deal was not close to expiring and there didn’t appear to be any clubs looking to poach his signature.
It was a completely unnecessary call that sums up the questionable approach from the board over the last few years.
In other Rangers news, Todd Cantwell has been torn into live on air after the Light Blues said “good riddance” to the Englishman
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