Clement decision baffles v St Mirren as ‘Abysmal’ Rangers torn to shreds
Stephen McGowan was baffled by Philippe Clement’s decision to bench Danilo and Nico Raskin for Rangers in their 2-1 defeat to St. Mirren on Boxing Day.
Rangers looked to have turned the tide in recent weeks with a string of good performances but that progress was halted on 26 December with a 2-1 defeat to St. Mirren that extended the gap from Celtic to 12 points.
Clement made a handful of changes to his Gers side but the omission of Danilo and Raskin baffled McGowan, who lambasted the first-half performance in the print edition of the Scottish Daily Mail (27 December, pg70)
“Defeat here will raise questions over Clement’s decision to rest Danilo and Nico Raskin after an abysmal first half when the home side deservedly claimed the lead,” explained McGowan.
“Narrowing the gap on Celtic to nine points last weekend, momentum was lost on a day when the league title surely went the same way.”
Rangers surely out of title race for good
Rangers now find themselves 12 points behind The Bhoys after their defeat, a gap that seems unsalvagable given how consistent Celtic have been and how inconsistent the Gers have been.
Although, that gap highlights Rangers’ deficiencies more than Celtic’s strengths with this league campaign surely one that will be swiftly forgotten despite its short-lived revival in recent weeks.
After the defeat to the Hoops in the Scottish League Cup final, Clement was left with three chances of attaining silverware although that is surely now reduced to two – it was wasn’t already – after Thursday’s defeat and he simply only has himself to blame.
His team selection was dreadful and seemed to completely undermine St. Mirren and it backfired massively and now he has to pay the consequences, which he will be hoping doesn’t stretch to his job security.
If their chances of winning the title haven’t completely diminished yet, they certainly will if they succumb to defeat when they face Celtic on 2 January.
In other Rangers news, Stan Collymore took to X to react to the defeat.
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