Chris Sutton baffled by what he's seen at Rangers. Credit: Imago
Chris Sutton baffled by what he's seen at Rangers. Credit: Imago

Chris Sutton baffled by Rangers 'head-scratcher' after what happened at Ibrox

Harri Burton

Senior Correspondent AUTHORITY Senior football journalist specialising in refereeing and officiating; former contributor to The Football League Paper, Late Tackle, and the Premier League; University of Derby graduate. FOCUS Refereeing controversies, football finance and governance, PGMOL decisions, and officiating analysis across the Premier League, EFL, and SPFL. THE INSIGHT Harri utilises a network of officiating and industry contacts to deliver verified, expert analysis of refereeing decisions and PGMOL policy. He provides the regulatory clarity behind the controversy to ensure fans get the full picture.

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Philippe Clement is teetering on the edge of being sacked at Ibrox after Rangers' shock defeat to Queen's Park in the Scottish Cup.

A single Seb Drozd goal was enough to sink the Light Blues, knocking them out of yet another domestic competition on 9 February, even in front of the Ibrox faithful.

The manager had earned some respect back from the supporters over the last few weeks, having impressed so much in the Europa League, but all that hard work has vanished once again.

Yet, given how well Clement's side have performed against the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United, it raises a lot of interesting questions in Glasgow.

Chris Sutton baffled by Europa League form at Ibrox

Speaking via the It's All Kicking Off podcast [10 February], Chris Sutton said: "It was a total embarrassment from Philippe Clement and Rangers. Most of the Rangers fans have had enough of feeble excuses.

"His talk of a rebuild... But Europe is a head-scratcher because they have played well, but domestically, second is last."

The Gers have advanced automatically to the knockout stages of the Europa League, but with 13 points separating them from Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, fans are frustrated with the inconsistency.

Philippe Clement walking towards Rangers sack

There is absolutely no excuse that can be made after the Light Blues were defeated 1-0 by Queen's Park, especially in front of their own home fans at Ibrox.

Understandably, calls for the manager's sacking are louder now more than ever, and Patrick Stewart seemingly has quite a simple decision on his hands.

An eye-watering £1.2million compensation fee for Clement makes any decision far more difficult [The Scottish Sun], though, with finances coming into the forefront of any change at the helm.

Patrick Stewart, Rangers
Patrick Stewart, Rangers CEO. Credit: Rangers YouTube

That is likely why Clement is still in the job, with the Gers being knocked out of domestic competitions in Scotland and falling so far behind their Old Firm rivals in the league.

Supporters can only put up with so much mediocrity, and even if the Gers were to somehow advance even deeper into the Europa League, Clement looks to have lost all trust at Ibrox.

Unless a decision is made soon, even if it is Stewart openly backing the manager and being honest to the fans, the hierarchy is risking a total fan fallout outside Ibrox.

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