Philippe Clement sack: Patrick Stewart days away from Rangers decision
Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart will have a big decision to make on Philippe Clement’s future in the coming days, according to Gary Keown.
The Gers are currently in second place in the Scottish Premiership but are 12 points behind arch-rivals Celtic after an underwhelming start to the season.
The Light Blues face the league leaders on Thursday (2 January) and would find themselves 15 points down on their rivals with defeat.
Keown, writing in the Scottish Mail on Sunday‘s print edition [page 90, 29 December] claimed that Stewart could be forced to decide Clement’s fate if the Gers lose that contest, saying: “Clement shouldn’t be in position as it is.
“Go a seventh meeting with Celtic without a win and all logic will finally point to it being game over.
“We’ll surely get some insight into what kind of power Stewart really wields should Rangers go 15 points or more behind their arch rivals.”
Clement’s days at Rangers could be numbered
The Belgian manager has been under severe pressure at Ibrox for months after a poor start to the campaign.
He had managed to swell the tide a little bit with four wins in four league matches before the 2-1 loss to St Mirren on Boxing Day (26 December).
That had led to talk about the Gers being back in the title race before the defeat to the Saints brought the Light Blues back down to earth.
The pressure is now firmly back on Clement after a short period of respite for the former Monaco boss with former Celtic man Chris Sutton claiming that he could be sacked following the Celtic game. [Daily Record, 28 December]
Clement will hope that his side can take the anger from the controversial Premier Sports Cup final loss into the clash at Celtic Park and finally secure a maiden victory over the Bhoys.
It is hard to see the Belgian making it to the end of the season in the dugout at Ibrox if the gap to Brendan Rodgers’ side remains so large.
In other Rangers news, a Gers target could be set to join a Scottish Premiership rival on a pre-contract agreement.
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