Patrick Stewart must be the most frustrated man in the country having to back Philippe Clement twice only to see Rangers results and performances get worse.
The Rangers manager was already living on borrowed time in the Ibrox hotseat, but the defeat to St Mirren has made his position untenable.
For 90 minutes Clement watched his team get outfought, even if it wasn’t out thought because of how simple the visitors’ plan was with Rangers not getting close to laying a glove, they just couldn’t deal with it.
Philippe Clement offers Rangers defeat excuse
What didn’t help matters was the man on the touchline who, after the game, decided that it was nerves and the players, rather than any tactical problem that was the cause of the defeat with an apology to Rangers fans missing the mark:
“It’s terribly disappointing because we were so nervous today on the ball and in the duels. I don’t know where it’s coming from,” Clement puzzled.
“That’s my frustration. It’s my responsibility also to put a team with the right mindset on the pitch. I didn’t see this coming, this nervousness. We were below par almost all game. By far not what Rangers should be today.
“It’s everybody. In the first place me. We had a plan for this game. It was a good training week with good quality, and I didn’t see that back today. I need to find out the reasons for that and to find solutions.”
What tactical changes did Philippe Clement make?
Regardless of shots on target or any other statistics, Rangers created one clear chance in nearly 100 minutes of football.
At 1-0 down, the usually reliable Vaclav Cerny slashed wide with his right foot 12-yards out with the goal at his mercy.
Clement stood and watched his team go side-to-side, the full-backs invert, wingers cut inside into traffic and crosses get thrown into a box with eight 6ft 3inch tall behemoths clearing them without making a single tactical change.
His continued insistence on refusing to accept whatever Rangers are trying to do isn’t working in this sort of game is why Clement receiving his P45 is only a matter of time.
