As the pressure rises on Philippe Clement, Rangers fans have seen this story too many times before.
After an initial bounce – in many respects beyond expectations – the incoming manager goes through a lull from which he may never return.
It happened to Europa League Finalist Giovanni van Bronckhorst, it sure as heck happened to Michael Beale, and now it risks happening to Philippe Clement.
But with that old Einstein quote about the definition of insanity being to repeat the same thing again and again and expect different results, apprehension has suddenly gripped Ibrox.
A new-look Rangers continue to prove uninspiring for fans and Clement’s soundbites are beginning to grate rather than motivate.
But as the question over the Belgian’s future begins to swirl, here are five big reasons why Rangers fans need to drop the sulk, back Philippe Clement and brace for a relentless few months at Ibrox.
Rangers really are a squad in transition
I don’t want to hear it, you don’t want to hear it, but it is an unfortunate truth nonetheless.
Rangers are a club and squad in transition with the last few years of chronic squad and expectation mismanagement creating a £17m headache for the club’s leadership.
Rangers blew their opportunity to regain a stranglehold on Scottish football and find themselves once again playing catch up to a more functional, organised and cash-rich Celtic.
Bridging that gap won’t happen overnight and Rangers have taken a new, youthful approach to their squad building aimed at generating value from emerging markets.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement is grating on fans with his constant referencing of the rebuild – especially given we are in November – but the situation stands true nonetheless.
Leon Balogun has essentially told his teammates to sink or swim and if they don’t get it by now, they likely never will.
It’ll take time for Rangers to reach their true potential but fans need to see more from a squad which is not performing consistently enough.
But Rangers fans too need to acknowledge that there are shoots of progress and focus on the positives.
Philippe Clement doesn’t have a ‘magic stick’ and neither will a would-be replacement.
Rangers downsizing v high expectations
Rangers have cut as much as £10m from their summer wage bill and allowed several of the club’s most experienced players to leave.
With that comes an obvious drop in quality and the new Rangers signings need time to adapt to the rigours of Scottish football.
Expectations are always huge at Ibrox but given the backdrop of boardroom incompetency we’re not sure the context of this season presents the perfect breeding ground to match them.
Pretty much since Steven Gerrard left, Rangers have held on to players too long, spent money poorly, adopted a suicidal contract model and been run like a bowling club bingo night.
There has to be a line drawn under the chaos somewhere and with that comes the sacrifice of an adjustment period as the club changes tact.
The minimum expectation has to be that Rangers win the league – it is what the club is built on – and we need to give Clement the season to steady the ship and build towards that.
As for the wider demand for swashbuckling football and free flowing attacking play, given the pressures of daily life in Glasgow Rangers need time to find the ‘automatisms’ Clement craves.
With that in mind, everything is still to play for this season and the idea we need to rip it up before any prizes have really been contested is counterintuitive.
Major positives in the Rangers squad
People might not want to hear it, but there have been positives this season. And not just one or two.
Rangers have changed tact with the makeup of their squad as they look to rebuild a player trading model which heralded only two success stories in Calvin Bassey and Nathan Patterson.
The less said about Borna Barisic, Filip Helander, Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos – who were all subject to transfer interest whilst in Glasgow – the better.
Rangers have looked to emerging markets to dig up rough gems who can make an impact on the team.
The idea is they go through a rapid development in the conditions of Ibrox and come through as diamonds.
Mohamed Diomande is the poster boy – even if the Ivorian isn’t convincing everyone – with plenty of other success stories in the squad.
Brazilian left-back Jefte has been a superb addition, producing a string of consistent and impressive displays despite being only 20-years-old.
Connor Barron too has developed rapidly since joining from Aberdeen, with even the lingering threat of a tribunal not enough to turn fans off the midfielder.
Albanian international Nedim Bajrami is clearly a quality footballer and has begun to step up for the team in recent weeks, whilst Vaclav Cerny is winning over fans with his impressive displays.
Rangers might even be tempted to fork out for the Czech international loanee come the end of the season.
Hamza Igamane also looks a bright spark but is just starting out in football outside of Morocco.
Philippe Clement to his credit has also improved a number of players who were at the club when he arrived, most notably defensive stalwart John Souttar and midfielder Nicolas Raskin.
Let’s get behind these guys and focus on what we’re doing right.
Philippe Clement’s style becoming clearer
One of the biggest criticisms aimed at Philippe Clement concerns Rangers’ turgid and uninspiring style of play.
The Belgian manager will suggest that it’s not his formation nor his tactics which are the issue, and rather the confidence of the players to take a chance and go out and execute them.
It’s lead to an interesting chicken or the egg debate amongst fans between the manager and the players and it’s a crucial one when determining the future of Clement at Ibrox.
There have been moments this season when Rangers have played the free-flowing, direct, penetrative football Gers fans crave although they have often been far too fleeting.
Finding consistency is the issue but there is no doubt that Clement’s tactical vision is more clear now than it certainly was at the beginning of the season.
The Rangers manager wants athletic wing-backs to contribute by getting on the ball and influencing the final third whilst inverted wingers start wide and come inside to create overloads.
Rangers play with one main holding midfielder, or number six, with the other given greater license to get forward, make late runs and add to the club’s attack.
With a number ten then given license to link up play and – crucially – score goals from all over the park, Rangers then play with a focal point up top who finishes moves and brings it altogether.
It’s a system built on rigidity and defined areas of the pitch, and it’s no surprise Rangers’ best performances of the season so far have been reserved for the European stage.
Breaking down stubborn opposition domestically, particularly on the road, is proving a tiresome chore as a Rangers lacking confidence struggle to impose themselves on the game physically.
This is the next step this stuttering Rangers team need to take and it’s a big reason why the pressure is mounting on Clement.
Rangers injury problems beginning to relent
Another tired old excuse at Rangers which won’t wash with many Ibrox fans surrounds the club’s ongoing injury problems.
But whether Rangers fans like it or not, the persistent and costly issues Rangers have in their medical department have hamstrung the club for years.
Rangers currently have four players sidelined with Ridvan Yilmaz, Oscar Cortes and Rabbi Matondo costing £11.5m between them and barely contributing all season long.
In fairness, they’ve barely contributed in their entire Rangers careers to date.
Tom Lawrence is the other name currently out of action with the Welshman set to be out until mid-December.
Whilst Lawrence has contributed this season, the last two years have been a disaster for the playmaker injury-wise with the high-earner not contributing enough overal since joining the club.
Out again, there have been issues with Lawrence’s athleticism and mobility after a string of serious injuries and the player will surely leave the club at the end of his contract next summer.
But this just scratches the surface of the injury problems at Rangers.
Brazilian striker Danilo cost £6m last summer and has been unable to properly contribute due to a string of high-profile injury problems.
Now back in the squad, Rangers will be hoping the hitman can get himself fit and firing for a crucial juncture of the season between late November and March.
Dujon Sterling has also seen his season badly impacted by a frustrating string of injury problems, whilst Kieran Dowell, Zak Lovelace and Ross McCausland have all had their issues.
If Rangers can get some of their most expensive players back contributing, it can only be a good thing for the team’s chances.
To Clement’s immense credit, the worst of Rangers’ injury woes are now behind them with last season seeing as many as 12 first-team stars out at any given time.
