Philippe Clement insists he’s going nowhere as Rangers fans count the cost of yet more Scottish Cup failure.
Derek Ferguson was left aghast when Rangers’ recent run of three trophies out of 42 was laid bare on BBC Scotland after the defeat to Queen’s Park.
The result also stands as one of the worst in Rangers’ 153 year history, this the first time a lower league club has knocked the Gers out of the Scottish Cup at Ibrox.
You have to go back to Berwick Rangers in 1967 for the last time Rangers exited the cup at the hands of a lower league team, a result which led to the sacking of Scott Symon.
But as Philippe Clement swats away suggestions he’ll walk from Rangers, fans might not want to hear it, but the manager isn’t the biggest issue we’ve got at Ibrox at the moment.
Rangers failures since 55 coming home to roost
Rangers fans are furious and looking for blood after the demoralising defeat to Queen’s Park with Philippe Clement’s head firmly on the chopping block.
The Belgian has been here before and has broad enough shoulders to handle the scrutiny of angry fans.
Despite the frustrations, Clement refuses to flinch and insists he’s going nowhere.
Whether Rangers fans like it or not, the issues at Ibrox run much deeper than the current occupant of the manager’s seat.
Rangers are in a cycle of hiring and firing which makes Philippe Clement the club’s fourth manager in four seasons.
Steven Gerrard, who watched Celtic win two trebles, took three years to deliver a title.
Gerrard left the club in the lurch for Villa in 2021 and it set off a chain reaction which we’ve been struggling to contain ever since.
Rangers clearly had no post-Gerrard succession planning in place with the focus on delivering 55 and stopping 10IAR.
Dave King’s exit was also a crucial moment in Rangers’ recent history, with Douglas Park taking the reins and tightening the Ibrox purse strings.
Gerrard knew the team needed improved and Rangers dallied to allow Ange Postecoglou and a £20m investment at Celtic usurp the club within a season.
Rangers also held on to Gerrard’s boys for too long and failed to stimulate a floundering transfer model, something which had shown signs of life between the sales of Nathan Patterson, Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey.
After appointing Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Rangers brought in Aaron Ramsey, Amad Diallo, James Sands and Mateusz Zukowski in January to supplement a title charge which collapsed after Christmas.
When the club lost its brief grip on the title, panic set in, and Rangers signed a host of overpaid and overrated players the following summer who the club are still trying to shift.
Rabbi Matondo, Ben Davies and Tom Lawrence stand as some of the worst transfer business Rangers have ever done.
Fan pressure eventually told on Van Bronckhorst, despite the Dutchman leading the Gers to the Europa League Final and Champions League.
Ross Wilson then slipped out the back door for Nottingham Forest as protests over his dodgy signing record spread to the stands.
Stewart Robertson and Douglas Park also stood down, with John Bennett and James Bisgrove fronting up the Michael Beale era.
Beale, Gerrard’s former assistant, was then given a remarkable amount of freedom in the transfer market in yet another desperate splurge.
Todd Cantwell, Sam Lammers, Cyriel Dessers, Jose Cifuentes, Kieran Dowell and Danilo all came into the club to the tune of over £15m and have yet to repay the fees invested.
Cantwell and Lammers left this summer whilst the likes of Cifuentes, Matondo, Davies, Lawrence and Dowell are still Rangers players.
When all of these players struggled to make an impact with Beale, the axe swung again last October and this is when Rangers brought Philippe Clement to the club.
The Belgian has since admitted he had no idea what he was walking in to.
Philippe Clement has been up against it at Rangers
After delivering the League Cup, Clement almost inspired a remarkable title tilt which came undone somewhere between Ibrox, Dens Park and Dingwall last season.
This was not helped by a 12-man injury crisis at Ibrox, something which continues to linger over Auchenhowie even to this day.
Clement had been clear throughout that the way Rangers were dealing with injuries had contributed to the medical situation at the club.
Rangers then had to go through a substantial period of downsizing in the summer, Ross Wilson’s ingenious contract structure being derided by Philippe Clement.
Out went Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe, John Lundstram and Connor Goldson; in came inexpensive project signings from across the planet.
Rangers have changed tact in the transfer market and are looking for young, hungry players who can be formed into diamonds in the Ibrox pressure cooker.
Many of these have made an impact and there is hope Rangers can stimulate their transfer model in the windows to come.
The Belgian also had to contend with the botched Ibrox reconstruction, the relocation to Hampden and yet more executive upheaval with John Bennett stepping down for health reasons.
James Bisgrove, Zeb Jacobs and Creag Robertson also jumped ship, making this the third executive overhaul in three seasons.
Philippe Clement was forced to front the media as the bowling club committee running Rangers eventually appointed ex-Man United staffer Patrick Stewart as CEO.
With Rangers also appointing Fraser Thornton as the club’s new chairman, the pair have commissioned an independent review into how things are being run at Ibrox.
At the same time, Rangers posted a remarkable operating loss of £17m for the last financial year and budget cuts have been necessary to ensure the club’s long-term survival.
This was clear again in the January window, where Rangers shipped out several high earners but could only bring in Rafael Fernandes on a loan-to-buy deal.
Everything at Rangers is now being done with the bigger picture in mind.
The days of hiring, firing and utter chaos at every level of Ibrox must be a thing of the past.
We need controlled and careful decision-making rather than the scattergun approach which has only served to push the club back to the brink.
Yes, Philippe Clement has big improvements to make as a manager and is not in any way blameless for the club’s domestic capitulation this season.
But if Rangers fans are assessing the last three years at Ibrox and genuinely believe that a change of manager will solve the chronic issues at the club, then they’re not paying attention.
Philippe Clement has had some big results at Rangers and it’s not the Belgian’s fault the club finds itself in such an extraordinary mess on and off the pitch.
It’s not like Clement was replacing success at Rangers and after years of upheaval we finally have a coherent structure and vision in place at Ibrox.
It’s not going to happen over night, but the idea we rip things up as they currently stand only benefits one team in Glasgow, and they don’t wear blue.
Philippe Clement might not be the long-term answer as Rangers manager but the Belgian is absolutely correct in what he says.
After years of upheaval at every level of the club, the thing Rangers need most is stability.
