Patrick Stewart sacrifices Europa League with Rangers ‘obsession’
Rangers’ Europa League hopes could be in trouble after Patrick Stewart has been accused of putting the side’s chances at risk.
The Gers parted ways with Philippe Clement last week after a defeat against St Mirren proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Barry Ferguson has been appointed as interim manager until the end of the season although a 2-1 loss against Motherwell on Saturday (1 March) suggests that it will certainly continue to be an uphill battle.
Keown questioning Stewart appointment at Rangers
It felt like Clement’s sacking had been a long time coming after a highly disappointing season in which the Gers have fallen well behind.
Not only do the Light Blues sit 16 points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, but they were also beaten to the League Cup by their rivals.
Clement also saw his side knocked out of the Scottish Cup against Scottish Championship side Queen’s Park, meaning the Europa League is the only thing left to play for at Ibrox this term.
| Scottish Premiership | 2nd (16 points behind Celtic) |
| Scottish League Cup | Lost the final on penalties to Celtic |
| Scottish Cup | Knocked out in the fifth round, beaten by Queen’s Park |
| Europa League | Round of 16 (ongoing) |
However, writing in the Scottish Mail on Sunday (2 March, page 99), Keown questioned whether the appointment of Ferguson was in the club’s best interests when it comes to Europe.
Keown wrote: “He [Ferguson] does have guys with notable experience in Neil McCann and Billy Dodds – although what Alan McGregor is doing on the coaching team is anyone’s guess – but there is just no fathoming out why someone with that CV is seen as the answer to get the club through a last-16 tie in UEFA competition.
“And here’s the rub. Stewart walked into a binfire and it is easy to see why he wants time to get his head around what he inherited and what is around the corner with this proposed American takeover, but it is impossible to see the appointment of Ferguson – the whole business of getting rid of Clement and bringing in the Old Boys’ Club, returning to the old obsession with former players and employees – as his decision.”
Rangers need to progress in the Europa League
Due to the way that they have suffered in every other competition this term, if they want to salvage anything from this season at all then the Europa League is going to prove to be essential for the Gers.
With that in mind, you can understand Keown’s comments and why he may be hesitant to back the Light Blues progressing too much further.
It was clear that Clement had to go after a terrible season and he seemed to have no ability to get his side playing on a regular basis.
Furthermore, it did feel as though the Belgian wasn’t exactly in line with where Rangers want to be as a club and therefore, didn’t feel the disappointment of failure in the same way that the supporters viewed it.
With that in mind, appointing someone like Ferguson who is familiar with the club and the standards that need to be set makes sense in order to try and return that pride to Ibrox.
However, as Keown points out, Ferguson is not someone with the merit behind him in football to justify the appointment and whether passion and knowing the standards needed will produce a winning Europa League result will have to be seen,