McGinn completely wrong about Patrick Stewart decision at Rangers
Patrick Stewart has already had a fairly rocky ride since it was announced that he’d be the new Rangers CEO.
The former Manchester United chief didn’t start in his role until after the Gers’ Scottish League Cup final defeat that went down to the wire with Celtic emerging victorious after beating their rivals 5-4 on penalties.
Since then, it’s been Stewart’s job to try and rectify the glaring issues for the Ibrox outfit this term but at the moment, not all that much progress is being made in Govan.
Philippe Clement’s men are 13 points adrift of first-placed Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and while it seems that the Europa League is keeping the Belgian in a job for now, if they get knocked out, he’s surely likely to be sacked.
Which is why Stephen McGinn is completely wrong about what he said regarding Stewart’s decision to keep the 50-year-old at the helm.
Stephen McGinn thinks Patrick Stewart was correct for keeping Philippe Clement on
Indeed, Rangers may have ended the Europa League league phase in the top-eight spots and earned themselves automatic qualification to the round of 16 but that shouldn’t have been enough to keep Clement at Ibrox.
The Gers’ form in the league has been spotty, to say the least, with the Govan-based club 13-points adrift of Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Despite all of this, however, McGinn believes Stewart has made the correct decision by keeping the Belgian employed.
“First and foremost, you’ve got to back these guys who have been put in a position that they believe they can’t get a better manager than Philippe Clement, they think they’ve backed the man and they believe things are progressing,” he said on the Go Radio Football Show (20 February).
“He’s [Clement] brought the wage bill down, he’s been competitive even though they lost the cup final to Celtic again, he’s been competitive in Europe so I believe that, since I can remember on Scottish football, a Rangers or Celtic manager would lose their job for a lack of trophies and the Queen’s Park result.
“But, fair play, it would be easier for him [Stewart] to get rid of him and bring in his own guy, he’s backing him [Clement] after what he’s seen [this season].”
Philippe Clement is on thin ice at Rangers
As mentioned, the only thing that seems to be keeping Clement in his job at Ibrox is the Gers’ impending Europa League run.
While it’s unlikely that their path could lead to the final, there’s still a possibility of something magical happening, much like it did back in the 2021/22 season.
However, if things go as expected and Rangers bow out early on, it’s hard to see how Clement will be able to keep his job at Ibrox.
| Team | Position | Goal Difference | Points |
| Rangers | 8th | +6 | 14 |
| Bodo/Glimt | 9th | +3 | 14 |
| Anderlecht | 10th | +2 | 14 |
| FCSB | 11th | +1 | 14 |
If he does, then it’s evident that Rangers don’t want to spend the money required to relieve the Belgian of his duties, which, for a club of their stature, wouldn’t be the best of looks.
Only time will tell what the future holds but for now, Clement will likely be looking to throw everything he can into the Ibrox outfit’s European dreams.