Patrick Stewart ‘could sack Clement soon’ as clarity shared over Rangers CEO’s comments
Patrick Stewart has been Rangers CEO for less than two months yet already he faces a massive decision on the future of Philippe Clement.
In the view of some, Clement should already have been sacked as Rangers manager on the basis of losing 1-0 at home to Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup.
If that was not bad enough, Rangers are 13 points adrift of Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic, who they also lost to in the Scottish League Cup final.
Stewart officially took charge as SEO the day after that Celtic loss at Hampden Park, and he has certainly been thrown in at the deep end.
Patrick Stewart speaks out on Philippe Clement future at Rangers
Stewart announced a month ago that there would be a “root and branch review of the entire football department at Ibrox”, which would span three three months.
In the same interview, Stewart effectively gave his public backing to Clement, stating that sacking the manager is not a “silver-bullet solution”.
However, Stewart did add that results needed to improve – particularly away from home – and that is a remark that is often overlooked.
Not in the case of pundit Derek Ferguson, though, who believes Clement could soon be on his way out of Ibrox as he provided some clarity on those previous Stewart comments.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, Ferguson said: “There’s an ongoing review still and I’m assuming they’ll be looking at every aspect of the club and how it can be run better.
“Stewart did give his backing, but he mentioned results needed to stay steady at best for Clement to keep his job.
“Clement is just under so much pressure right now and the Queen’s Park game is one Rangers should never have lost, and yet they did. The fans see we’re struggling against teams that sit in. I
“t’s all about learning on the job and Philippe Clement’s not learned anything so far in terms of how to break down a low block.
“He’s got the players at his disposal, but he’s making strange decisions. Patrick Stewart has only recently come through the door, but he did say Clement needs results to maintain his job.”
Could Rangers sack Philippe Clement?
Financial reasons have been highlighted as one reason why Clement is still at the Rangers helm, a week on from the Queen’s Park loss.
That is something Rangers chief Stewart has since shut down, however. Another reason – and this one was always more likely – is that the Gers are through to the Europa League knockout rounds.
With a last-16 tie to come, Clement looks likely to be given the chance to oversee that two-legged tie, whoever it may be against.
Defeat in that, though, and assuming there is no remarkable turnaround in the Scottish Premiership, the Belgian could well be sacked come this time next month.
Ultimately, Clement has not picked up the results required to keep himself in the job, and can only therefore have himself to blame.