Only a year ago, Philippe Clement saw Rangers grind out a difficult win away from home against Kilmarnock to stay top of the Scottish Premiership.
At that point, anyone suggesting that Barry Ferguson would be the Rangers manager at the beginning of 2025 would have been locked up.
Todd Cantwell was at the centre of everything good that Rangers were doing, and he looked certain to cement his place as a cult hero by driving his team to a title win.
Why Todd Cantwell wanted to leave Rangers explained
It’s been downhill ever since that win at Rugby Park with the Rangers Review’s Joshua Barrie explaining why the relationship between Cantwell and Clement deteriorated.
There was an obvious spark earlier in the campaign when the Gers boss hooked the playmaker against Aris Limassol in the first-half.
Asked to play on the right-wing due to injuries, Cantwell refused to hug the touchline and kept cutting inside.
Clement could be seen remonstrating with the player and, after refusing to following instructions, replaced him with Ross McCausland – who later scored and justified his inclusion.
This wasn’t why Cantwell forced through a move in the summer though.
According to Barrie, it was Clement’s tactics that saw the relationship crumble, described as “attritional” and “too direct”.
Cantwell wasn’t happy about the midfield being by-passed when Rangers progressed the ball forwards to the attack.
Who was at fault for the relationship breaking down?
The reality is, Cantwell was still given every opportunity to be the main man for Rangers.
His form between Christmas and the defeat to Motherwell in early March was his best during his time at the club – five goals in seven games from Christmas Eve – and was key in taking Rangers to the top of the league.
| Club | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Rangers 2023/24 | 44 | 8 | 7 |
| Blackburn 2024/25 | 28 | 2 | 3 |
Both accounts can be true though. Clement was inflexible, but Cantwell didn’t have to give in either.
When everyone was fit, Cantwell got to play in his preferred No.10 role and was Rangers’ main creative force but there were clearly irreconcilable differences between the two.
Looking back to that night at Kilmarnock, it’s fair to say that neither of them won the personal battle that sees one of them out of work, and the other playing for a mid-table Championship team.
