Derek Ferguson completely disagrees with Ian Durrant’s recent positive appraisal of Rangers manager Philippe Clement.
Clement is under-fire at the Ibrox giants with the club sat third in the Premiership table after 11 games. They are nine points behind both Celtic and Aberdeen and many fans have lost faith in the Belgian.
Former Rangers star Durrant, who won 13 major domestic honours with the Govan side, is well qualified to give an opinion on current affairs at Rangers.
But against what many believe, Durrant is a fan of Clement and can see Rangers recovering under the guidance of the former Club Brugge manager.
Ferguson takes the opposite school of thought and thinks December is a massive month for Clement with games coming thick and fast, including the Premier Sports Cup Final vs Celtic.
Derek Ferguson disagrees with Durrant over Clement
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, Ferguson said of Clement: “He’s got a big month coming up, that’s for sure. He’s got to get off to a winning start on Saturday against Dundee United, which is easier said than done.
“We’ve got to give him that opportunity at the minute, but I wouldn’t go as far as to agree with what Durrant says. I don’t think it has been good since the start of the season.
“We’re scraping by and it’s not good to watch. It’s a hard watch and I didn’t agree with what Ian has said. I don’t think he’s (Clement) doing a good job.
“What we’ve got to still do with the manager is, he’s got a wee bit of credit in the bank in terms of the mess he entailed. He did turn it around but I know we fell at the final hurdle (last season). That gives me a wee bit of hope.
“Of course now, you think of the 15th of December and I just think it’s a massive month for him. Even two weeks later, we’ve got Celtic on the 2nd of January, so it’s massive.”
What did Durrant actually say about Clement?
Durrant, when launching a new Rangers Lotto campaign this week, said that he likes boss Clement and thinks once Rangers overcome the worst of their injury problems, the Belgian can have the team challenging for the title.
He said: “I’ve met Philippe a few times. He’s got a bit about him that I like. But he’s had a lot of bad injuries to important players.
“Hopefully now we can get them back and they can go on to show how good they are. You’ve got to react in a positive manner and it’s winning cups, winning leagues. That’s what matters at Rangers.”
“There will be tough times, don’t worry about that. But it’s how you come out the other end of it.
“The manager’s taken a bit of a battering but he’s strong enough. He’s experienced enough to know if he gets everybody fit, he’ll have them challenging up on the league.”
