Philippe Clement sack: Thornton and Stewart stance emerges at Rangers
Rangers will not want to sack Philippe Clement after the loss to St Mirren on Boxing Day, Andy Newport says.
The Daily Record journalist believes the 2-1 defeat against the Saints is “the final straw” for the Ibrox faithful, but the Gers’ hierarchy would not want to jump to conclusions.
Patrick Stewart and Fraser Thornton started at the Light Blues on 16 December and will want to wait to make a decision on the Belgian manager’s future ahead of the Old Firm derby on 2 January.
Speaking on Hotline Live (27 December), Newport said: “They showed us something at Hampden. They took Celtic all the way to penalties and lost by the thinnest of margins. I think some fans were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in that sense.
“But losing last night, I think for many, will be the last straw. Whether that’s the case with the board, I’m not so sure. With Patrick Stewart and Fraser Thornton only just been in the door, especially with the Old Firm coming up, I think a few of them will be like let’s just get through this period before rushing to make a decision.
“But as far as many of the fans are concerned, this is the final straw.”
Philippe Clement has undone Rangers positives with St Mirren loss
Clement seemed to have turned the tide at the Light Blues after the impressive displays against Tottenham and Celtic in recent weeks.
The Bears lost the Premier Sports Cup final on 15 December by the thinnest of margins against Brendan Rodgers’ team and could’ve won it in extra time had VAR awarded a penalty for the foul on Vaclav Cerny.
With the 1-0 win over Dundee, the Gers continued their fine form, but losing to Stephen Robinson’s team has undoubtedly put a dent in the Belgian manager’s future prospects.
Rangers are now 12 points behind their Old Firm rivals in the league table, and it looks highly unlikely they’ll be able to catch them.
The Ibrox faithful recognised Clement’s efforts at Hampden Park and the noise around his future had died down as of late, but the debacle in Paisley has undone that.
Many had expected Stewart to pull the plug on the 50-year-old head coach’s tenure at the Gers after the Scottish League Cup final, but the Light Blues’ performance saved him from the sack.
The new Bears CEO has some big decisions to make in the coming weeks, and one of them could be relieving Clement of his duties.
It will be interesting to see how long the former Monaco manager will survive at the Glaswegian outfit.
In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart has raised a question mark again around the head coach’s future.
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