Rangers manager Philippe Clement refuses to adjust his team’s shape despite being nine points down in the title battle

The Belgian watched his team lose 2-1 at Pittodrie in the Premiership on Wednesday, a disappointing outcome for the Ibrox club’s fans, who have resorted to social media in droves to demand change.

And, while some argue that repeating the same mistakes is doomed to failure, Clement believes that doing so will simply confuse his players.

He stated: “Changing a formation at this time, I believe, will simply raise additional uncertainties. Also, how will you change the formation if you can only train on it once?

“How you intend to train for that in terms of building, creating opportunities, and defending. Everything in a one-hour session. So these are the things you can build on.

“If you have some foundations, something solid, you may progress to the next phase. We aren’t far enough along with the group to do that right now. So it’s impossible to turn that around in a single day of training.”

Rangers meet Motherwell in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals on Sunday, with Clement’s career on the line.

Rangers must brutally cut a £30,000-per-week star who “doesn’t look happy”—not just Clement

The Glasgow Rangers are a struggling team. The club’s financial results for the preceding 12 months were revealed at the beginning of the week, when it was revealed that the Light Blues had lost about £17 million

This is in spite of the fact that a number of players were sold during the summer, and a few high-earning players were also released from their salary obligation. Although this news is a bit of a shock, the most terrifying part of the past few days wasn’t the match versus Aberdeen.

Before the match versus the Gers, Jimmy Thelin’s team had been the campaign’s best team. A victory over the Dons would have relieved the burden on Philippe Clement and possibly resulted in a return to form in the next

The visiting team only managed one attempt on goal in the second half as they sought all three points because Aberdeen played Clement’s team off the field.

The circle seems to go on forever. Giovanni van Bronckhorst was fired a year after Steven Gerrard left in 2021. Michael Beale was fired at the beginning of October of last year, and it appears that the Belgian is now the next to go.

The outlook for Philippe Clement at Rangers appears dire.

How did this happen? The 50-year-old saw a significant transformation upon his arrival at Ibrox in October 2023. After leading the team to the top of their Europa League group a few months later, Clement defeated Aberdeen 1-0 at Hampden to win the League Cup.

After an incredible return from an eight-point deficit a few months earlier, the Gers were even tied with Celtic at the top of the Premiership table at the beginning of March.

Although Rangers lost to Celtic twice and failed to win the league or the Scottish Cup, there were high expectations that the 2024–2025 season would be a good one for the team.

However, as of this writing, the Light Blues have only won six of their 10 games, falling nine points behind Aberdeen and the Parkhead team.

It is also more than just the outcomes. The results were lackluster because Clement’s team lacked a tactical philosophy, frequently used long balls, and did not capitalize on the abilities of a number of players.

It becomes increasingly likely that the Belgian will not be in charge for much longer after the midweek loss. Who will step in to take his place? Since the position isn’t precisely the most alluring endeavor in the world.

The players, some more than others, should be assessed, even though Clement is taking the brunt of the fans’ dissatisfaction over the performances and outcomes this season.

James Tavernier, a first-team player who was possibly the Gers’ best player the previous season, is now among the team’s worst underachievers this year.

In the summer, James Tavernier garnered attention.
During the summer transfer window, the 33-year-old appeared to be leaving Ibrox as several teams expressed interest in the defender.

In what may have been a lucrative offer for Clement, Steven Gerrard sought to bring the Rangers captain to the Middle East, but ultimately nothing came of it.

But Gerrard wasn’t the only former Gers manager who desired Tavernier. After taking over at Besiktas, Giovanni van Bronckhorst started to express interest at the beginning of June. After weeks passed with not even an offer, it was certain that the Englishman would stay with the team for the 2024–2025 season.

This season’s statistics for James Tavernier
The right back, who earns £30,000 a week, was outstanding in the closing third of the season. Throughout the season, Tavernier not only recorded 12 assists in all competitions but also scored 24 goals.

The captain was in excellent form with his engagement at the top end of the field, as evidenced by the fact that his 36 goal contributions were five more than those of Cyriel Dessers, the next-highest player on the list with 31.

Tavernier has only made 31% of his dribble attempts in the top division, has a 79% pass success rate, and has lost possession 20.5 times on average per game. He doesn’t seem to be as sharp with the ball as he once was, and he isn’t contributing as much going forward.

Tavernier’s tenure with the team may be coming to an end, according to former football player turned BBC pundit Rory Loy, who said earlier this season: “It just feels like it’s come to a natural conclusion.” Rangers run the risk of that poisonous energy continuing if they hang onto him.

It’s concerning that he hasn’t been very reliable this season, in my opinion. His body language doesn’t seem to be the same as it was in years past, in my opinion. He simply seems like a different person to you.

“So far this season, he has not been a goal scorer. He seemed unhappy. Sometimes all you have to do is acknowledge that it might be time.

Therefore, Rangers must ruthlessly bin Tavernier from the club alongside Clement if they decide that they need to go in a new direction moving forward.