Rangers board ‘put to shame over Clement decision’ as sack announcement made elsewhere
Philippe Clement remains in his post as Rangers manager despite his side floundering domestically all season long.
The Gers’ embarrassing and quite frankly unacceptable Scottish Cup defeat to Queen’s Park at Ibrox has still not proven to be the final nail in the coffin for Clement, whose side now have nothing to play for domestically.
Having become the first Gers manager ever to oversee a home loss to lower-league opposition, Clement only has the Europa League remaining as a last resort if he is to lift silverware before the season ends.
Beaten in the League Cup final by Celtic, sat 13 points behind their arch-rivals in the Premiership table and dumped out of the Scottish Cup in farcical fashion, it’s beggar’s belief how Clement remains in a job.
Feyenoord set example for Rangers after Brian Priske decision
Progression to the Europa League’s last 16 – achieved by finishing in the top eight places of a 36-team league – is Clement’s only silver lining left at Ibrox, but Feyenoord haven’t been quite as sentimental.
The Dutch side, who currently sit fifth in the Eredivisie following a second-placed finish under Arne Slot last season, have sacked manager Brian Priske, despite their own impressive progress on the continent.
Feyenoord qualified for the Champions League knockout play-offs after a 19th-placed finish in the league phase, beating Benfica, Bayern Munich 3-0, and drawing 3-3 at Manchester City along the way.
Despite this, the Rotterdam club’s board elected to pull the trigger and fire Priske on 10 February, showing that in their eyes, European results can’t mask a regression in terms of domestic progress.
Rangers shown what to do with Philippe Clement by Feyenoord
Sacking Clement wouldn’t provide an immediate fix to all of the Light Blues’ evident problems, but based on his side’s displays throughout this season, it’s clear Clement is far from the long-term solution either.
Clement’s side all-but ruled out of achieving any domestic silverware this term before mid-February is a damning indictment, with success in Scotland being the bread-and-butter for any Rangers manager.
Like the Gers, Feyenoord were recently knocked out of their own domestic trophy in the KNVB Cup – albeit they at least reached the quarter-finals and were beaten away from home by high-flying PSV.
Priske – who has previously expressed his admiration for Clement – has therefore been dismissed for lesser failings in a more competitive and higher-quality environment, and the example set by Feyenoord shows that the Bears have no room for manoeuvre the longer they choose to stick by the Belgian.