Clement sack: Rangers storm to come as manager blasted over Raskin and Hagi
Philippe Clement’s treatment of Ianis Hagi and Nicolas Raskin earlier this season suggests he’s not yet back on track at Rangers, according to Gary Keown.
Writing in the Scottish Mail on Sunday‘s print edition (5 January, page 95), Keown slammed Clement’s freezing out of Hagi and underuse of Raskin last autumn, despite Gers’ 3-0 win over Celtic last time out.
Noting that arguably the best performance of his Ibrox career will count for little if the Light Blues suffer another away defeat at Hibernian on Sunday, Keown argued Clement’s judgement is still up for debate.
He said: “Ianis Hagi was persona-non-grata. With no mention of deals or clauses, it was painted purely as a footballing decision.
“Nicolas Raskin was no more than a bit-part player at that point too. Of course he’d had injury issues, but you just got the feeling Clement didn’t fancy him.
“Yet, here we are, with Hagi now one of the key creative forces in the team and Rasking captaining the side against Celtic.”
Philippe Clement back under the microscope after Rangers v Celtic
Thumping the runaway Premiership leaders and their arch-rivals 3-0 at Ibrox could prove to be a watershed moment for Clement’s tenure in Govan, but they must now back that result up at Easter Road.
Losing to Hibs would see the Bears give up any ground they made on Celtic with that one-sided Ibrox victory, with Clement under no illusions that his side’s away form still needs to be addressed.
Should the Light Blues lose in the capital on Sunday, it’ll be a staggering fifth league defeat from their last nine on the road, sending the Belgian straight back to square one and under serious pressure.
Clement’s compatriot Raskin has proven a revelation since returning to the starting XI earlier this season, while Hagi has provided a new lease of life in the final third with a Lazarus-like comeback of his own.
The duo coming back in from the cold to be mainstays in the team suggests Clement is learning from his past mistakes, but he must do likewise regarding the Gers’ away form if they’re to avoid another slip-up.
In other Rangers news, Graham Spiers slammed some of the off-field scenes in 2 January’s Old Firm clash as “disgraceful”.
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