‘Philippe Clement could be sacked by Rangers’ – pundit makes new claim
Philippe Clement could be sacked by Rangers before the end of the season amid growing pressure from supporters at Ibrox.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson insisted that failure to progress in Europe and elimination from the Scottish Cup would see the manager dismissed.
As things stand, Rangers’ Europa League form is said to be keeping Clement in the job after they secured passage into the round of 16 with a win against Union Saint-Gilloise.
This is despite having dropped 13 points behind Celtic in the SPFL, with their domestic performances falling well short of expectations.
Robinson explained that the boss has proven he can pick up good results, while there is an acceptance that he is working under “difficult circumstances”.
However, if their positive displays in Europe do not continue, the seemingly constant pressure on his job will ramp up yet again.
Philippe Clement faces Rangers sack after Europa League verdict
Football Insider revealed in January that potential replacements for Clement have already been considered at Ibrox, with four frontrunners named.
Now, Robinson has insisted that the boss remains secure in his position but will be expected to make progress both in the Scottish Cup and Europa League if he wants to keep his job.
“It’s seemed like he’s one game away from the sack for most of the season,” he told Football Insider.
“Then they turn around their performances, they put in a good performances against Man United away, granted they lost.
“They’ve done extremely well in Europe.
“Philippe Clement is working under difficult circumstances, large sections of the fans have been against him for a long time now.
“Results in Europe have kept him in his job and the result against Celtic kept him in his job.
“Two draws after the Old Firm, everyone started asking questions again, they’ve had four league wins in a row now but they’re 13 points off Celtic.
“They will finish second, they’re clear of third place, and then they’ve got the Scottish Cup.
“A good run in Europe can’t be ruled out, and a potential cup win, then we could be sat here talking about Clement planning for next season.
“But also, we know a week is a long time in football. They could go out of the Europa League and the Scottish Cup and be gone before the end of the season.
“I think a lot, in all honesty, depends on the run in Europe and how long that keeps going.
“The manager is under so much pressure and results domestically are as inconsistent as they have been, so I think Europe is the only thing keeping him in the job.
“If and when they fall out of Europe, if they don’t progress to at least the semi-final, we’ll be having conversations about his future again.
“He’s proven he can do it and pick up wins, the club know what he can do.
“If he delivers between now and the end of the season, the club will stick with him, and if he doesn’t then they’ll move him on.”
Ibrox takeover accelerated by £10m Europa League windfall
Rangers’ performances in the Europa League are expected to be key not just to Clement’s future at Ibrox, but also amid potential takeover talks.
This comes amid claims that they have “got to change the board” as a result of growing pressure.
On top of that, the £10million windfall received after qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition will comes as a huge boost to the club.
That injection of funds is said to have given Patrick Stewart financial “breathing space” to review things without taking emergency measures.
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