Philippe Clement sack timeline emerges as Rangers board stance shared
Rangers have gone through plenty of turmoil in the 2024/25 season as we approach the final months of the campaign
Philippe Clement has often been at the centre of fans’ rage with the Ibrox faithful calling for his head on more than one occasion.
The Belgian was given an extension to his contract at the start of the term, which indicated that he was in it for the long haul.
However, after being knocked out of the Scottish Cup by second-tier side Queen’s Park on Sunday and losing the final of the Scottish League Cup to their arch-rivals Celtic on penalties, it feels like he’s been given plenty of chances.
In fact, BBC Scotland journalist Alasdair Lamont has shared an insight into how the Rangers boardroom likely feels about their manager’s future at the moment.
Philipe Clement needs to turn things around at Rangers soon
It was already bad enough that Rangers were miles off of the top spot in the league due to their poor form in the Scottish Premiership.
And, while their eighth-placed finish in the Europa League may have papered over some cracks for a short while, the fact that Scottish minnows Queen’s Park managed to beat the Gers is nothing short of embarrassing.
Despite all this, it seems that the 50-year-old is set to stay with BBC Scotland journalist Lamont sharing that the Rangers board likely have no “appetite” to relieve him of his duties, though he speculated that the Belgian will likely be sacked if the Gers fail to have a deep run in the Europa League.
“It appears there is no boardroom appetite to dismiss the manager immediately,” he wrote via the BBC Sport website (12 February).
“Where Rangers go from here, while the independent review into the running of the club is ongoing, is unclear.
“But unless Clement can somehow guide this squad deep into the Europa League, there appears to be little chance he will continue in his role beyond the end of the season.
“There is an argument it would be better to install a new manager now, allowing him to get his feet under the table while seeing out the season rather than having to hit the ground running at the start of the next campaign, but Clement is adamant he should be trusted to continue the project he began.
“His powers of persuasion with Patrick Stewart and the rest of the Rangers board will have to be strong and failure to get beyond the next round of the Europa League would surely signal the end of what has been a tumultuous reign.”
Philippe Clement should step away from Rangers
Even though Clement answered with a resounding “no” when he was asked about resigning after Rangers were defeated by Queen’s Park, it still feels like this could be the best way for things to end amicably between all the involved parties.
However, it’s evident that the Belgian isn’t going to be relieved of his duties any time soon unless they instantly drop out of the Europa League.
The Europa League is about the only thing that Clement has going for him at Rangers and if that ends up going pear shaped too, it’s hard to see why the likes of Stewart and Fraser Thornton would want to keep him around anyway.
If Clement resigned from his role, Rangers fans would likely have a newfound respect for him as he’d be putting the needs of the club ahead of his own job.
Only time will tell what the future holds but, sooner or later, Stewart and Clement are going to have to face a harsh truth one way or another.