After Philippe Clement was appointed as manager, there was a somewhat subdued reaction amongst Rangers fans.
The club’s fourth manager in the space of around 12 months, the Belgian’s appointment came after the doomed reigns of Steven Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and – perhaps most damagingly – Michael Beale.
It lead Rangers fans to be apprehensive about getting carried away, the club’s previous false dawns and the visible downturn in the squad leaving little to get carried away with.
But after a month in charge – and four Premiership wins, a League Cup semi-final victory and a potentially important Europa League draw away to Sparta Prague – excitement started to build.
Rangers’ initial upturn in form under Philippe Clement, alongside his focused, intelligent and serious press conferences, had everyone wondering what if?
Celtic’s stuttering performances and an over all stink around Parkhead amid a board war with their fans meant optimism had, perhaps naively, snuck back into the Ibrox camp.
Philippe Clement and Rangers blow Celtic chance
With the gap back to only five points – should the Ibrox side win their game in hand – it made the last international break one of the longest in recent memory as fans eagerly awaited phase II of Clement’s Rangers.
But since then, after allowing themselves to get their fingers burnt for the umpteenth time, opportunities missed leave the Rangers support at increasing odds with a team under immense pressure.
After Celtic were held by lowly Motherwell last weekend, Rangers had the chance to go within three points of their Old Firm rivals against Aberdeen.
In a depressingly tepid first 20 minutes at Pittodrie, Rangers should’ve been 2-0 down and Aberdeen out of sight as fans got a glaring glimpse into this team’s fragile mentality.
But for a late James Tavernier penalty, which meant no ground had been lost in the title race, there might’ve even been a fan revolt.
Rangers are used to seeing this squad let such opportunities slip through their fingers and at a time when they could’ve heaped the pressure on Celtic, they wilted.
Philippe Clement, potentially in protection of his players, opted instead to focus on the team’s resilience to score a late equaliser, and not their latest crossbar hit in the title match-up with the club’s rivals.
Europa League fortunes hang in balance
Fast forward four days and Rangers had the chance to guarantee Europa League progression with victory over Aris Limassol at Ibrox.
The pot four seed vs the pot one, having lost in Cyprus this Rangers team must’ve been itching to set things right but what Ibrox got was a nervous and passive side who displayed a distinct lack of leadership.
Rescued by 20-year-old winger Ross McCausland, Sparta Prague having beaten Real Betis in the Czech Republic means the 1-1 draw leaves Group C neatly poised going into the final game.
With Sparta visiting Cyprus, and Rangers Spain, the Ibrox side will need to beat the La Liga side to qualify if their Czech rivals do the business in Limassol.
Speaking about the disconnect between players and fans after the game, the manager looked decidedly unsettled, like a man who had begun to see a deeper level of the mess he’d inherited.
Pointing to the guarantee of Europa Conference League football, it did little to pacify a Rangers support who’ve just seen their team blow an almighty double header to set up the season.
Now, that armour of invincibility, albeit Philippe Clement is yet to lose as Rangers manager, has taken something of a dent.
Whilst no-one is writing. Clement off, those who got carried away in November are once again acting a little more apprehensive.
A failure to pick up all three points against St Mirren – 3rd in the Premiership table – will see Clement firmly on the back foot as fans continue to run out of patience.
