Philippe Clement sack: Rangers to put ‘full stop’ after ‘beaten’ BBC interview
Philippe Clement is braced for receiving the sack from Rangers after he said on BBC following the 2-0 Scottish Premiership defeat against St. Mirren on Saturday.
Rangers lost to St. Mirren at Ibrox on 22 February, courtesy of second-half goals from Mikael Mandron and Toyosi Olusanya, thus missing the chance to close the gap with Celtic, who were beaten 2-1 by Hibernian, to 10 points.
The result brought an abrupt end to the Light Blues’ five-game winning streak in the Scottish Premiership during which they scored three or more goals in each match.
It also added to Clement’s woes at Ibrox as he had already been under immense pressure after crashing out of the Scottish Cup due to a 1-0 loss against second-tier outfit Queen’s Park two weeks earlier.
Ian McCall speculates Clement sack after St. Mirren loss
Speaking to BBC Scotland after the game, a “sorry” Clement apologised to the fans for the result, but remained coy on the possibility of the board sacking him, insisting that he is focused on getting Rangers “back to where they should be”.
Ian McCall, who was shocked by what Jack Butland did at one point in the game, reacted instantly to the Belgian tactician’s comments and admitted that he sounded “beaten” in his post-match interview before suggesting that Saturday’s result signals a “full stop” for the manager at Ibrox.
Speaking on BBC Sportsround on Radio Scotland, McCall said: “Philippe Clement sounds beaten. Today feels to me like a full stop.”
Rangers need to make sack decision amid 49ers takeover
It would not be wrong to say that Clement has been lucky to cling on to his job at Ibrox for as long as he has as he would not be at the club if there was stability behind the stands at Ibrox.
The former Monaco boss appeared to avoid the sack in the first half of the season as the Gers did not have a permanent chairman and CEO in place.
| Competition | Rangers |
| Scottish Premiership | Second (13 points behind Celtic after 27 games) |
| UEFA Europa League | Round of 16 (Face Fenerbahce in March) |
| Scottish Cup | Knocked out by Queen’s Park in fifth round |
| Scottish League Cup | Lost on penalties v Celtic in final |
While Fraser Thornton and Patrick Stewart have since been hired as the chairman and CEO respectively, they have seemingly held off on pulling the plug on Clement due to Rangers’ financial constraints.
With 49ers Enterprises now in advanced talks over a takeover at Ibrox, the board may want to wait until that is finalised before making a decision on the 50-year-old, although they have since been knocked out of the Scottish Cup.