Philippe Clement remains the Rangers manager despite overseeing one of the worst results in the club’s history.
When Gers lost in the Scottish Cup at the hands of Queen’s Park, it was the first time they had ever been knocked out at home against lower league opposition.
Not for the first time, Rangers fans turned on Philippe Clement and demanded his removal from the position of manager.
CEO Patrick Stewart had previously backed Clement and the lack of action suggested he was about to do so again.
That has been proven correct as the Ibrox chief has now given an interview to club TV.
Stewart has earned criticism for not making any sort of statement since the cup debacle but has now broken his silence.
Stewart answers Clement Rangers question
Most fans would argue that the result at Ibrox alone was enough to lose the manager his job.
Stewart has now admitted that the result in isolation was an unmitigated “disaster”.
So why is he still in position?
It essentially comes down to two points for him – the Europa League run and the fact previous manager changes have not been fruitful.
Asked why the Belgian is still in place, the CEO said: “I’m going to go back to what I said in January. We have been underperforming as a club for several seasons now and that’s not down to a manager.
“We’ve changed the manager and it has not made a difference. But what I’m doing now is looking at the root causes of that. And until we fix the root causes, it’s akin to fixing a broken house and starting with the roof instead of starting with the foundation.
“So I’m going into the foundations and having a really good look at this.
“Secondly, for all the Queen’s Park result was disastrous I think we need to give credit to Philippe and the team for the Europa League run.
“We had a really tough draw, four of the top eight we played, and we finished in the top eight. So they deserve real credit for that and I don’t want to take a step that would put further progress in the Europa League at risk, so that’s another reason for why we continue to keep Philippe in his role.
“I’m not here to make popular decisions and get quick winds. I do not want to repeat mistakes of the past. I’ve got to make sure I’ve got discipline and focus on making sure we keep making the right decisions in the right order for the long-term benefit of the club, and not knee-jerk reaction from what was a disastrous result.
“I’m not trying to duck to that but we’ve got to stick to the plan. To be clear though we’re all judged on results – myself, Philippe…so there’s no free passes here but we’re staying disciplined and sticking to the plan.”
Rangers shame of Queen’s Park result
Despite all of that, Stewart is insistent that the gravity of the defeat to the Championship side is being recognised by him and others at the club.
He admits there is a “shame” felt around the “disaster”.
He said: “I don’t want anyone to doubt the gravity of the result and how I view the gravity of the result it. You can’t sugar coat it – it was disastrous.
“It’s historically a significant moment – it’s the first time we’ve gone out to lower league opposition at home in the Scottish Cup, that is not lost on me. That’s obviously a source of shame for the club.
“Clearly it has a financial impact as well but more importantly it was a really good opportunity to win a trophy. So it has impacted everyone at the club.
“Serious questions have been asked so it is a blow”
