Philippe Clement sack: Rangers boss ‘helpless at Ibrox vs Celtic as end is nigh’
Philippe Clement will feel “helpless” as his Rangers side take on Celtic at Ibrox as he faces the sack imminently if beaten, Stephen Craigan has said.
The Belgian saw his side go into the game on Thursday (2 January) with just one win in their last five in all competitions, leaving them second in the Scottish Premiership 14 points behind their Old Firm rivals.
That comes amid a remarkably inconsistent season for the Gers, that has already seen Clement come under intense pressure from the club’s supporters.
Now, Craigan believes that will lead to a challenging experience for the 50-year-old in the match for which he has been forced to make a number of changes to his Rangers side, in what he feels could prove to be his last game in charge in the event of defeat.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland (2:40pm), the former Motherwell man said: “You just wonder if the result doesn’t go their way today and it’s a bad result and a poor performance, it’s very, very close to the Rangers board having to make a huge call because irrespective of length of contract, Philippe Clement, I think he said a couple of days ago ‘we’re on track, we’re moving things forward.’
“They’re not on track, no one really knows where they’re going, no one really knows where they’re headed and I said it before this team selection here today, no one’s really trustworthy in that Rangers team where you think they’re going to turn up and they’re going to give you an eight or nine out ten.
“You’ve no idea what’s going to happen, the inconsistencies hurting them. You’ve got to influence games you’ve got to stand up you’ve got to take the ball take responsibility. But also out possession you’ve got make sure you’re working very, very hard.
“So we know Celtic will do that, Rangers, we’re not too sure what they’re going to do so when you have that as a manager he will feel helpless on the touchline and the supporters are looking at him to try and make changes to try and influence the players, and if that’s not happening and the player’s aren’t responding to the manager or responding to huge games here at Ibrox, then you have to think that the end is nigh.”
Ianis Hagi fired Rangers into a seventh-minute lead to give Clement a platform to build from.
Old Firm derby stakes high for Rangers boss
Football Insider Opinion
With the way both sides come into this game this will certainly not have been a match for Clement to relish.
This game means more than any other to Rangers, just as it does to those of a Celtic persuasion and so there will be a huge amount of pressure to get something from this game.
However, the gulf in the table and form between the two teams left few associated with the home side holding much confidence of success.
That will not have been helped by the fact that Clement found himself unable to call upon key players such as captain James Tavernier, centre-back John Souttar or goalkeeper Jack Butland.
All of that will have made this a daunting prospect for the Rangers boss, who may find himself in an untenable position in the event of defeat, given those at Ibrox will not want to fall so far behind their rivals, either this season or when looking to the future.
Even so, the strong first-half performance made by his side with Hagi putting the hosts ahead within a matter of minutes may have helped to ease some of the nerves for Clement at the start of this absolutely huge encounter.
In other news, Rangers are set to sign a new deal worth over £20million.
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