There is a lot to fix at Rangers and the debate about whether or not Philippe Clement will get the chance to turn the corner remains to be seen.
No manager in recent memory has been under such intense pressure and the Belgian will be hoping that the off-field restructure buys him more time.
If he is, these are the three things, out of a lengthy list, that Clement must address to fix this fragile Rangers team.
Three things Philippe Clement or next Rangers boss must fix
The first one is obvious. Rangers carry no threat from set-pieces and making a change is as simple as employing a subject matter expert to try and find a way to make things work.
Two goals have been scored from set-pieces all season; one at Hampden against Celtic where a spontaneous and quickly taken short corner saw Mohamed Diomande score, the second was Robin Propper scoring from a rebound.
Neither of these were well-worked goals, there was an element of fortune in both of them.
When games are tight, free-kicks and corners can be the difference between winning and dropping points and this current squad isn’t capable of scoring either.
Make a small tactical change that could have a big benefit
Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity is perfectly illustrated by Rangers current attacking set up away from home, and yet Clement keeps persisting with something that clearly isn’t working.
Rangers line-up is with two wingers or players playing in the wider positions, and both cut inside onto their preferred feet and then run into traffic.
If only there was a proven method that works…
Across the city for the last few seasons, Celtic have had their wingers, predominantly, on their stronger side where they can attack the by-line and get behind opposition defences.
When there isn’t space to go through, going round and behind is the only option.
Look at the goals Rangers scored against Hibs when Ianis Hagi and Vaclav Cerny cut the ball back to Hamza Igamane and how much space he had to get his shots away.
Don’t try to fix something that isn’t broken
Clement found a successful game plan when he partnered Danilo and Hamza Igamane, only to drop the idea in every away game since.
If the Gers boss wants to rotate them and keep them fresh, start them together and then bring on Cyriel Dessers or Nedim Bajrami to play higher up.
For whatever reason, he seems intent on sticking to a game plan that simply isn’t working.
There are a lot more problems to solve, but these would, at least, be a start and are obvious to everyone, except the one person that matters most – Philippe Clement.
