As the pressure mounts on Philippe Clement at Rangers, the Belgian manager has barely flinched.
In fact, the ex-Club Brugge and AS Monaco manager has pledged to never get too drawn into the emotion of the highs and lows of life in Glasgow.
For Rangers supporters however, the situation is glaringly different as the club’s fans stare down the very real, and increasingly likely, possibility of losing their proud grip on Scottish domestic domination.
But as Rangers fans struggle to swallow the state of things at Ibrox as it currently stands, the club’s support face an uncomfortable truth with regards Philippe Clement.
The Belgian will be the Rangers manager for the foreseeable future and the club’s support can either back his new-look team, or drive themselves doo-lally calling for his head.
Rangers’ issues run deeper than Philippe Clement
If Philippe Clement has said it once, he has – to the frustration of some – said it 1000 times.
Rangers are a team in transition and it will take time for his some nine new arrivals this summer to settle into the squad.
Given the backdrop of the last three seasons – were Rangers catastrophically let slip their brief grip on Scottish football, surrendering three consecutive seasons of automatic Champions League qualification in the process – such change has been a long time coming.
Rangers’ chronic mismanagement of the squad and player contracts has led to a bottleneck in the playing staff, where the club’s finances and player trading potential has taken a drastic hit.
An overhaul was essential and Rangers have backed their man in Philippe Clement as chaos – a good word for the Rangers of recent years – envelops Ibrox.
Between the botched upgrade to the Copland Stand, the rehousing at Hampden and no fewer than four executives jumping ship at the top of the club, the problems on the pitch don’t tell the whole story off it.
With Rangers posting losses of over £17m at the end of October, attempts at making the club sustainable post-55 have clearly failed and the Gers have had to change tact.
With that in mind, Philippe Clement is not a miracle worker and Rangers are unfortunately back to ‘project’ status.
Given the state of the club’s management over the last three seasons, I’m counting my blessings we’ve managed to steer things back on course.
Rangers manager has cause for Ibrox positivity
It might not be a popular thing to say when Rangers are nine points off the Premiership’s summit and out of the Champions League, but there are positives in Glasgow.
Whilst criticisms of Philippe Clement’s playing style are valid, when things have clicked Rangers’ tactics under the Belgian have become more apparent.
Confidence is the biggest issue for a young Rangers team still finding their feet and suffering from the culture shock of life at Ibrox.
Already, some are beginning to emerge from that challenge and whilst results and performances certainly haven’t been complete, there are flashes of cohesion and ‘automatism’ already.
Others have stepped up to the plate, with more senior members of the squad in Nedim Bajrami and Vaclav Cerny beginning to deliver for Rangers on a consistent basis.
Connor Barron, Nicolas Raskin, Jefte, John Souttar, Hamza Igamane and Mohamed Diomande have also been other positive performers, even if criticism persists around the latter.
Rangers also face the challenge of phasing James Tavernier out of the team, with Dujon Sterling waiting in the wings to make that right-back role his own.
In the final third, the impact of injuries cannot be understated but the return of Danilo comes at a crucial time for Rangers.
The £6m Brazilian striker was signed to make a big impact and might finally be getting the fresh start to do so.
Cyriel Dessers has proven he cannot bear the burden of being Rangers’ reliable number nine, but he will be able to relax when he isn’t the only one wearing the jersey.
Out wide, left-wing duo Rabbi Matondo and Oscar Cortes have barely been able to impact the season because of injury. If Rangers can get them both back, it adds to Clement’s options.
And that’s before we talk about the upcoming January window, with everyone from John Gilligan to Nils Koppen all but confirming business will be conducted in the winter transfer period.
It really is not all doom and gloom and the idea that the Rangers project needs ripped up and started again is a symptom of the wider fan frustrations of the last few seasons.
It was never going to be pretty but the ‘marathon’ of a season isn’t even at its halfway point and the club is still fighting on all four fronts.
Calls for Clement’s head are unproductive and counterintuitive in the extreme and Rangers supporters just need to grit their teeth and bare it as the club strives for consistency.
We don’t expect this to impact the job of the Rangers manager, right enough.
Philippe Clement knows all this already.
