Philippe Clement sack: Rangers board questioned amid ‘£7.5m pay-off claim’
Derek Ferguson has questioned why the Rangers board offered Philippe Clement a new contract last summer amid claims they cannot now afford to sack him.
Clement has been under constant pressure this campaign with his side 10 points behind leaders Celtic, who have a game in hand and also beat the Gers in last month’s Scottish League Cup final.
Ross McCormack recently claimed via the Open Goal podcast [13 January] that it will take £7.5million to pay off Clement in compensation if sacked now in owed wages.
That is widely considered to be the reason the Belgian remains at Ibrox, rather than the Gers going in a new direction.
Philippe Clement contract length at Rangers
And speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, player-turned-pundit Ferguson said questions must be asked over the awarding of a four-year contract last summer.
“To sack him will cost a few bob, but then why did they extend his contract in the summer? You’ve got to ask who made that judgement,” he said.
“It wasn’t the right decision. Whatever had been said in negotiations, whatever was said to the manager, it just looked from the outside like he was given a free pass this season.
“You can’t do that at Rangers; it doesn’t happen. You can’t be second best and things have to change radically. As good as the home form is, we’re not good enough away from home.
“There’s no title race – that’s gone – and it’s just a case of stopping Celtic winning a treble. Rangers are judged on winning league titles and so far, Clement’s been way off.”
While results over the past two weeks have picked up, with the Gers winning four and losing one – a late defeat to Manchester United – many accept it is just a case of papering over the cracks.
Ultimately, the title race has been over for months and now the only realistic shot at silverware comes in the Scottish Cup.
The Europa League has also been a welcome distraction, not for the first time in recent years, but the Gers are simply not good enough right now.
Given the Gers are not in a position to pay off Clement, the 50-year-old will be in the Ibrox dugout for a while longer yet regardless of results.
In other Rangers news, a Premier League side are said to be “one step” away from signing a Gers favourite.
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