Stephen McGinn offers Philippe Clement sack verdict after Rangers draw
Stephen McGinn suggested that Philippe Clement is not the man to take Rangers forward after their 3-3 draw with Hibernian.
The Gers started Sunday’s (5 January) game well and led 2-0 after 19 minutes. However, Clement’s side were pegged back, and despite going ahead again in the 74th minute when Hamza Igamane completed his ha-trick, had to settle for a point after conceding in the 83rd to Rocky Bushiri’s equaliser.
Clement has found himself under immense pressure at Ibrox of late and, after a 3-0 victory over Celtic on Thursday (2 January), it was essential for the Belgian to build on this.
But after following the Old Firm win with another blip, McGinn doesn’t feel as though Clement has what it takes as he said live on BBC Radio Scotland (5 January, 14:04): “I’m not sure how much longer it can go on with Philippe Clement.
“That wasn’t a big improvement, Rangers have been like that earlier in the season.
“If you think about some of the European games. Malmo, outstanding. Nice, could’ve scored as many as they wanted. Olympiacos, a side I watched over two legs against Aston Villa, really good team over in Greece, hostile. Rangers were excellent.
“But nothing’s really changed for me.
“You think of some of the games after Nice. They go away to St Johnstone, win 1-0 and it’s an own goal. I mean they really didn’t look like winning that day.
“After Malmo, home to Hibs. Hibs missed a terrible penalty on the day, 1-0 struggle. After the cup final you have 1-0 home to Dundee, struggle. They then go to St Mirren and lose, draw at Motherwell.
“He actually sacrificed the week leading up to the Celtic game just to win the Celtic game, that’s not how it works here. That’s not how it works at Rangers.
“Every game is as important as the other and I just don’t know what’s going to change long term with Philippe Clement.
“He’s always going to have these big days, excellent, outstanding against Celtic but the bread and butter is to try and win the league back from Celtic.”
Philippe Clement still under big pressure at Rangers
Despite a well-deserved 3-0 win against their arch-rivals in the Old Firm derby, Clement’s side were not able to back up this performance fully against Hibernian on Sunday and it keeps questions about the boss’ future at the forefront.
Given the Gers took an early lead in the game and were never behind against Hibernian, it does feel like two points dropped for the Light Blues and miles away from the result against Celtic.
The Belgian’s season with Rangers has been characterised as inconsistent with constant failure to back up any good results from game to game.
Therefore, it’s no wonder that questions remain over whether the 50-year-old can get things going at Ibrox with a challenge for the title looking very unlikely this term.
After resting seven players against Motherwell in preparation for the Old Firm derby, it is clear that Clement had a priority in his mind over games.
However, this only highlights a concern that has been ever-present throughout the season so far that the manager does not fully get the mindset of the club he is in charge of.
After picking up four points in the week, Clement is probably safe again for now but the pressure remains as he has to prove he can make his side deliver at the top level week in, week out.
In other Rangers news, it has been revealed who Nils Koppen is looking to bring to Ibrox in the January transfer window.
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