Philippe Clement development at Rangers could leave fans ‘shocked’ – Derek Ferguson
Derek Ferguson believes he is speaking on behalf of most Rangers supporters when he says a certain Philippe Clement development would leave each of them “shocked”.
Clement is a man under immense pressure at Ibrox on the back of losing 1-0 to Queen’s Park last weekend in what will surely be considered the nadir of his tenure.
Rangers suffered a home defeat to lower-league opposition in the competition for the first time in their history, which skipper James Tavernier admits is simple “unacceptable”.
With the Gers now out of each domestic cup competition, all hopes rest solely on the Europa League, which many feel is the only thing keeping Clement in a job right now.
Rangers have easy Philippe Clement sack decision to make
Reaching the knockout rounds of the Europa League, without having to go through the qualifying phase, is worthy of praise.
However, being 13 points behind Celtic and having nothing left to play for domestically with more than three months of the season to play is quite simply not on.
And in the view of Rangers-mad pundit Ferguson – speaking exclusively to Ibrox News – it would come as a major surprise if Clement sees out the season in Glasgow.
“I imagine I’m speaking for the vast majority of Rangers supporters in saying we’d be shocked if he’s still Rangers manager come the end of the season,” he said.
“I don’t think it’d be a knee-jerk reaction. The board have to sit down and have a chat about this, because now until the end of the season there is absolutely zilch to play for domestically.
“There’s a lot of anger and disappointment which is clear to see from the fans. The fans turned up in their vast numbers again against Queen’s Park and it should have been a comfortable victory.
“But the manager failed miserably with the way he set the team out. You look at managers in the past who have had a far better track record and been sacked, so I’m mystified he’s still in a job at this moment.”
Who could Rangers turn to if Philippe Clement is sacked?
In the view of some, Clement should have been sacked the moment the full-time whistle sounded against Queen’s Park – the loss really was that bad.
However, the Gers need to have a succession plan in place. Sacking Clement with nothing at all to play for is all well and good, but the Europa League campaign is an obvious caveat.
Rangers do not want to go into their first knockout tie with a caretaker manager overseeing things at Ibrox.
Steven Gerrard is the current favourite to take charge, although that does seem rather fanciful at this stage.
Beyond that, Wayne Rooney is another on the long list, while the likes of Gary O’Neil, Russell Martin and Sean Dyche have also been touted.
Right now, it is next to impossible to work out exactly how Clement manages to stay at the helm come the end of the campaign.