Rangers to struggle to afford Philippe Clement sack after £17m reveal – ‘Utterly unacceptable’
Barry Ferguson doesn’t think Rangers will sack Philippe Clement despite their 2-1 away loss to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday (30 October) because of the price it would cost them to do so.
The Gers released their annual revenue results on 29 October for the financial year ending on 30 June 2024 and announced a loss of £17million.
Writing for the Daily Record (31 October), Ferguson shared his thoughts on the Gers’ current financial situation and reflected on when it used to be “utterly unacceptable” for Rangers to be second-best, never mind third-best where they currently find themselves.
“I was brought up during an era where second best was utterly unacceptable at Ibrox. So what does that make third best, as is the case now? Personally, I just feel drained by the whole thing which left me with an empty feeling,” he wrote.
“I know folk are calling for the manager’s head but I just don’t see that. The fact is that Philippe has signed a new contract at the start of the season and the club have just announced losses of £17million.
“I’m not sure they are in a position to pay off another manager, having gone through that costly process twice before with Gio van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale.
“So I think the board will stand by the Belgian coach. But where does that leave the club and the team? Well the answer is clear, needing to win games and that is why beating Motherwell this Sunday in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final is an absolute necessity.”
Rangers don’t have anyone to turn to if Philippe Clement is sacked
While most fans and pundits may believe the Gers’ best course of action is to start fresh with a new manager at the helm, as Ferguson said, it doesn’t feel like that’s a valid option for John Gilligan at the moment.
Bringing someone new in would no doubt motivate the team and bolster their spirits but in reality, it doesn’t feel like there’s anybody the club could realistically hire that would excite fans or be able to turn things around all that much.
Since Steven Gerrard left, the Gers have found themselves in the shadows of their bitter rivals Celtic more than once and haven’t been able to find a way out.
The season is still young of course and there is plenty of time for Belgian to turn things around and potentially earn back the support of fans but, if things continue going in this direction, it feels like the Gers should be more worried about dropping lower in the table rather than challenging for the title.
Which, for a club of Rangers’ stature, is miles away from where they likely want to be by the end of the term.
In other Rangers news, Scott McDermott has shared his sympathy for John Souttar after what he did against Aberdeen.
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