Rangers to sack Philippe Clement if performances don't improve as Ibrox boss lucky to survive

Philippe Clement will be sacked by Rangers if he can't lift the level of performances soon, says Derek Ferguson.

The former Ibrox midfielder says that based on the situations some of his predecessors were in when they were sacked the Belgian is lucky to still be in a job.

The Light Blues are nine points behind both Celtic and Aberdeen in third, having lost away to both, as well as Kilmarnock.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst was the same distance behind the Hoops when he was fired two years ago, while Michael Beale was just seven points off the pace when he was let go last term but there have been indications the club are looking to stick out the struggles [BBC Sport, 1 November].

Under normal circumstances Ferguson expects Clement would probably have gone by now, but with John Gilligan holding the fort as temporary chairman and no CEO in place the hierarchy that would usually make a managerial change is not set.

However, he doesn't think the Rangers boss is safe by any means and if he continues to struggle for much longer the fans will eventually be the ones who force a decision to be made.

Since losing at Pittodrie on 30 October the Light Blues have laboured to a 2-1 League Cup victory over Motherwell which may have saved his job (3 November) and a bleak 1-0 win over Hearts (10 November), with a comparatively solid 1-1 draw away at Olympiacos sandwiched in between.

Rangers nine points adrift of Celtic and Aberdeen

Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News Ferguson said: "If you look at what went on in the past you would say, 'Yep, he shoudnae have survived it'. But there's reasons why.

"We know that there's no chairman, there's no chief exec, so who's he answering to?

"He keeps banging on about a 'project'. Rangers isnae a project. Rangers is about winning, winning leagues, winning cups, putting on good performances, entertaining the fans.

"So at the moment, over the course of the last number of games, apart from Europe, he's not delivered that.

"So he can look at himself as pretty lucky to still be in a job, but he's hanging on with his fingernails at the moment because with this level of performance, he cannae keep going with that.

"If he does there's only one outcome and that'll be that he will lose his job, and I think that'll lie with the fans."

In other Rangers news, James Tavernier is expected to definitely leave the club if Clement avoids the sack.

For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.