Philippe Clement has been on borrowed time for most of the season with his time at Rangers finally coming to an end.
Supporter unrest, a shock cup exit, a trophyless season and a series of poor league performances mean that the Rangers manager was always up against when trying to justify why he should be kept on.
The downfall can almost me tracked back to last summer when Rangers creator in chief Todd Cantwell was made to train on his own and a budget exit to Blackburn Rovers was agreed.
Todd Cantwell posts cryptic message as Rangers sack Philippe Clement
With news emerging of Clement’s sacking, Cantwell was posting on social media:
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Cantwell never posts or says anything without a reason or ulterior motive and one can’t help but wonder if the spiritual sentiment isn’t in some way connected.
The Rangers players learned about Clement’s sacking long before the press found out, and players talk.
Cantwell had more than an ally or two in the Auchenhowie dressing room and the playmaker would be lying if he said he wasn’t even just a little bit smug about how things have turned out for the Belgian.
Why Rangers problems started when Cantwell wasn’t replaced
The younger players who have been signed by Nils Koppen and Clement have looked promising, however, the No.10 role remains a worry.
The next manager probably won’t set up Rangers in the same way which means that players like Tom Lawrence and Nedim Bajrami could be deemed surplus to requirements, something that not too many fans would complain about given their form this season.
In a formation that relied heavily on the players to make something happen, not having Cantwell was always going to make things harder and so it has proven.
The moments of magic that the former Norwich City midfielder was capable of have been a distant memory in a season of turgid displays.
With hindsight, Cantwell probably wishes he wasn’t quite as hasty to force a move away.
