Clement should have kicked Rangers staff out of his office after what happened
Philippe Clement has been accused of committing the “jaw-dropping stupidity” of taking sports science too seriously at Rangers by Keith Jackson.
The journalist believes Clement has ruined his own credibility by basing his squad selection in the 2-2 draw against Motherwell on 29 December on what the sports scientists in Auchenhowie had to say.
He added that the Belgian tactician should have kicked the staff out of his office when they suggested dropping Nicolas Raskin and Vaclav Cerny out of his starting lineup against St. Mirren and Motherwell, respectively.
“Somehow, in their wisdom, they failed to work out that it was Clement who was in most danger of drifting into the red zone and, as a result, his credibility has been left completely and utterly trashed”, Jackson wrote in his Daily Record column.
“Clement has to carry the can for his own part in this jaw-dropping stupidity.
“When he was being ordered to rest Nico Raskin at St Mirren and leave Vaclav Cerny on the bench against Motherwell, he ought to have turned around and questioned the sanity of the men in the white coats before ordering them out of his office.
“And when one of them suggested it might be a good idea to start Cyriel Dessers on the basis that the misfiring number nine had a full tank at Fir Park, Clement would have had reason to wonder if the backroom’s eggnog had been spiked.
“He didn’t though. He pulled out a pen and scored out the name of Hamza Igamane from his team sheet.”
Philippe Clement under sack pressure at Rangers
The Gers could have reduced the gap with Celtic to six points if they won their three games, including the Old Firm derby on Thursday (2 January), after Christmas.
However, having lost 2-1 against St. Mirren and drawn with Motherwell, Clement’s side find themselves sitting 14 points behind the Hoops.
Brendan Rodgers can extend the lead to 17 points with another victory at Ibrox this week.
Any hopes of staging an unlikely comeback have, therefore, come crashing down because Clement listened to the sports scientists too much.
It is worth noting that the manager was forced to bring Cerny and Igamane on at half-time against Motherwell to rescue that point.
It was a sign that he knew he had gotten his team selection wrong.
The Light Blues, who fell two goals behind in the first half, would not have salvaged a point at Fir Park had it not been for Igamane’s brace.
A loss or even a draw against Celtic on Thursday could be the final nail in the coffin for Clement in Govan.
In other Rangers news, Kris Boyd has provided his thoughts on controversies in the 2-2 draw against Motherwell.
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