Philippe Clement ‘won’t survive this time’ as new Rangers sack verdict emerges
Philippe Clement is facing mounting pressure once more as his Rangers side succumbed to shock 2-0 defeat to St Mirren on Saturday.
Goals from Mikael Mandron and Toyosi Olusanya consigned Rangers to defeat on home turf as the Light Blues failed to capitalise on Celtic’s surprise loss to Hibernian.
Rangers rebounded to beat Hearts having endured a humiliating Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Queen’s Park but a desperately poor season continued against St Mirren.
Clement has survived several near misses this season but the knives are sure to be sharpened once more after this latest setback.
Neil McCann says it’s time for Rangers to act on Clement
The boos rang out at the final whistle at Ibrox in a game where Rangers saw Hamza Igamane have a red card overturned before half-time.
Despite that piece of good luck, the Gers continued to toil after the break and – in truth – St Mirren were worthy winners on a day to forget for Clement at Ibrox.
Neil McCann was asked about the Belgian’s future live on air during BBC Sportsound on Saturday (22 February).
And McCann was unequivocal in his belief that this defeat might finally be the final straw for the Ibrox board, who have thus far opted to keep faith in Clement.
“I really am not sure that he survives this one,” he said. “I hate to see people lose their job, but he looked a broken man at the end of that. He looked down. As a manager you’ve got to empower your team, you’ve got to emanate there’s a confidence, you can change things, plus you’ve got to show fans that you can change games in play.
“I think there’s lots there that are contributing, I think he will come under pressure again tonight.”
Rangers board cannot delay the inevitable with Clement
The biggest surprise really is the fact that Philippe Clement has been able to stay in his job for so long given the dismal campaign he has overseen domestically.
Rangers have saved their best for Europe this season and you cannot help but feel that their success in making the last 16 of the Europa League has kept him in a job for this long.
But with Rangers reportedly on the cusp of being taken over by Leeds United owners 49ers Enterprises, it feels like the wolves are really circling for Clement now.
How he survives this latest shambles would be anyone’s guess but then again it was a shock when he managed to stave off the sack after the Queen’s Park debacle.
This time, though, the board cannot delay the inevitable. Enough is enough, Rangers under Clement cannot afford to be shambling their way through a season like this, it’s time to do the right thing…finally.