Since the full-time whistle blew on Rangers Scottish Cup campaign, speculation has been rife surrounding the future of Philippe Clement.
The result on its own was bad enough, but this isn’t the first time that the manager has been under pressure or had his competence called into question.
Despite Patrick Stewart remaining silent, Rangers are clearly sticking with Clement, who is unlikely to get an easy ride from now until the end of the season.
Philippe Clement on Rangers struggles being the toughest of his career
This time last year, Clement had taken Rangers to the top of the Scottish Premiership, but it has been downhill almost ever since.
When asked if this was the toughest period in his managerial career, he said:
“Yes, yeah it is. And for sure because of this game, this last game, it’s the most freaky one also, to lose that game. And because of that with all the reactions, yes that’s the toughest moment until now. But I’m not running away from it.
“No, no I don’t think so,” Clement rejected when pressed on if the level of pressure and intensity was a new experience.
“I think it’s the same in Brugge where you need to win every game. But I didn’t have freaky results like we had now. And I understand all the anger around that result.”
Should Clement get the time that Steven Gerrard got?
Steven Gerrard took three seasons to get it right at Rangers.
He inherited a squad that was a lot weaker than the one that Clement did, but then, he also got more money to spend and backing from the board to put things right.
Once a fan base turns, it is almost impossible to change their minds, even if the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership was cut to one point by the end of the season, the one statistic that matters wouldn’t change – zero trophies out of three.
Clement got into the position to win a treble last season and ran out of steam, this season, he dropped points on the opening day, lost the first Old Firm derby and failed to qualify for the Champions League.
It’s been an uphill battle ever since and, despite not running away, it’s a battle that he currently isn’t winning.
