Rangers have ‘massive’ chance to stop Celtic in their tracks
Rangers have been in the shadow of Celtic since the 2024/25 season kicked off with Philippe Clement’s men miles away from where they needed to be.
There were a few new faces that were brought in over the summer and while some such as Vaclav Cerny hit the ground running, others such as Hamza Igamane took a bit of time to settle into things.
Then, you have players such as Robin Propper who was supposed to be a marquee signing who’s performing nowhere near the standard required with the Dutchman even being seen as a downgrade on Conor Goldson by some.
Rangers need to switch their focus to the Scottish Cup and Europa League
Since the 2024/25 season kicked off, fans have wanted to rid Rangers of Clement with a large portion of them not being able to see a future with the 50-year-old in charge.
Whether that be due to the poor form of his first team or if they just didn’t like the way he played, a lot of fans had already seen enough after the first few games of the season.
However, the Ibrox outfit have chosen to stick by him with Mark Guidi now saying that the Scottish Cup is make or break for the Gers this season.
“The Scottish Cup is back this weekend and it’s big for Rangers,” he said on the Go Radio Football Show (7 February).
“It’s their best chance of winning a piece of silverware and Philippe Clement has to deliver that and in order for them to do that, they’re probably going to have to stop Celtic as you’d expect both Celtic and Ranger to be in the draw on Monday.
“The Scottish Cup is massive for two reasons, A) a treble for Celtic and B) a chance for Rangers to stop that and get a piece of silverware that is rightfully demanded from a club like Rangers every season.”
Philippe Clement has a lot to deliver in the second half of the season
Even though Clement likely bought himself some time after managing to get Rangers to finish eighth in the Europa League, it still feels like he has a lot to deliver to fans.
Only one new addition was made in the winter window despite both Kieran Dowell and Rabbi Matondo exiting.
Which, on the face of things wouldn’t be all that bad if Rafael Fernandes was a proven Scottish Premiership player.
However, seen as though he’s only 22 years old and has only made one substitute appearance for the Govan outfit, it’s clear to see why fans aren’t all that happy.
Only time will tell if their plan to make a lack of transfers has worked but at the moment, Clement still has a lot to deliver in order to ensure his job is safe for next season.
Because, if he fails to bring at least one trophy back to Ibrox, it’s hard to see how Fraser Thornton could justify keeping him beyond the end of the term.