Philippe Clement sack round-up: Sky Sports update, Rangers ‘inevitable’ awaits
Philippe Clement is facing the risk of being sacked as the Rangers manager after bowing out of the Scottish Cup.
Rangers crashed out of the Scottish Cup after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Queen’s Park at Ibrox on Sunday, 9 February.
A 69th-minute goal from Sebastian Drozd sealed the victory over the fifth-placed Championship club, with James Tavernier missing a penalty in the final seconds of the game.
The result has cast major doubts over Clement’s future in Glasgow and Ibrox News has rounded up all the latest news about his situation from Monday, 10 February.
Kris Boyd slams Rangers board over Clement sack
Kris Boyd has been baffled by the fact that the Rangers board has not pulled the plug on Clement yet, questioning their stance on Sky Sports News on Monday.
The pundit is of the view that the Gers have not done enough on the pitch for the Belgian tactician to be still at the helm.
“Right now the Rangers fans need to know, is Philippe Clement only there now because of finances?”, Boyd said.
“Because in terms of the progression of the team, we’ve not seen that. There’s been no improvement.
“There’s nothing for any Rangers fan to feel optimistic about with Clement as the man to take Rangers forward.”
Robbie Savage wowed by Chris Sutton claim
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday (9 February), Chris Sutton branded the Light Blues’ defeat against Queen’s Park as “embarrassing” and asked how long Clement will remain in the job.
“How embarrassing does it have to get for you?”, the former Celtic star said.
“That was humiliation today on your own patch. Can Clement last the season?”
Robbie Savage did not have much to say about the situation, but was clearly amazed by it, as he said: “Wow”.
Sky Sports latest on sack
Gordan Duncan provided the latest update on Clement’s future at Rangers live on Sky Sports News on Monday (10 February, 10:00 am).
The reporter said Sunday’s result was “massive” and the 50-year-old appears to have lost support from the entire Rangers fanbase.
“In the eyes of the fans he is under immense pressure – he already was really, this season there’s been so many disappointments”, Duncan said.
“It’s a league title which was already away from Rangers, they lost the League Cup final, their away form has been poor. This all led to serious mounting pressure on Philippe Clement anyway.
“If there was any support left amongst the fan base, it feels like that probably disappeared yesterday because of the scale of the embarrassment.
“Patrick Stewart gave a briefing a few weeks back when he backed Philippe Clement – but he said he could not offer cast-iron guarantees that would remain the case if results turned.
“Yesterday was massive – no one saw this coming. Very angry reaction in the stands at Ibrox, an angry reaction on social media, an angry reaction amongst every Rangers fan you speak to.
“You just wonder how much longer Philippe Clement can survive this negativity.”
Philippe Clement sack inevitable at Rangers
Meanwhile, David Edgar of the Heart & Hand podcast is of the view that Clement being sacked is “inevitable” after the defeat against Queen’s Park.
Edgar believes it is only a matter of time before the former Monaco boss is relieved of his duties, but is not sure when the board will pull the plug.
He also opined that delaying the sack further makes the board look weak.
“It’s fairly simple. Clement being sacked is inevitable”, Edgar wrote on X (9 February).
“It’s a question of when the board accept that. They can wait until the next poor result, or the one after but all waiting will do is make them look weak.
“Do it now and show some leadership. He’s done.”
The Glasgow giants return to Premiership action against Hearts on Sunday, 16 February.
It remains to be seen if the board will make a decision regarding Clement’s future before that.