Rangers are willing to lose the next two Scottish Premiership titles to Celtic without dismissing Philippe Clement, according to Tom English
On November 1, a BBC journalist stated for the outlet’s website that earlier this season, a top Ibrox official promised that there would be “no knee-jerk reaction” to poor performances, no matter how much “heat” came from the fans.
He concedes that position is being tested, with the Belgian under intense pressure following a 2-1 loss at Aberdeen on October 30 and slipping nine points behind the pace set by the Dons and the Hoops, but says a high official at the club has indicated they are prepared to cope with it.
English wrote: “In the dog days of early season, after Dynamo Kyiv knocked them out of the Champions League and Celtic annihilated them in the Premiership, a senior figure at Rangers spoke about the importance of supporting Philippe Clement.”
“The gist was this: Clement had proven himself to be a good manager in his first season and would be given the time he needed to rebuild his club, regardless of the heat from supporters if things went wrong on the road, regardless of whether Celtic won the league this season or next.
“There would be no knee-jerk reaction, no continuation of the short-lived spells of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale, no throwing good money after bad in a frenzied pursuit of their city rivals.”
Derek McInnes linked to Rangers job
Sacking a manager is frequently viewed as the nuclear option for a club’s board, but in Glasgow, this stance likely equates to the opposite.
Swallowing the pain of a long-term reconstruction at the expense of short-term success on the field will be highly unpopular with a crowd that is already dissatisfied with the season’s progress.
Derek McInnes likely started the new round of rage when his Kilmarnock side defeated Clement’s Gers 1-0 on October 20, with the 1-0 setback at Pittodrie 10 days later knocking it off the top spot, and the Rugby Park manager has emerged as the leading replacement suggestion [Kris Boyd, 31 October].
The “noises coming out of Ibrox” following the latter were that an immediate sacking was not on the cards [Rangers Review, 31 October], despite more and more supporters hitting their boundaries, indicating that the stance taken earlier this season has not changed.
It has been speculated that the fanbase’s rejection of the current government may make it hard not to remove the Belgian [Stephen McGowan, 31 October], given the financial implications of declining ticket sales and revenue.
However, if the club has previously planned to cope with the response from supporters in order to prevent perpetuating a negative cycle, things may become much worse before they get better.
The Light Blues’ decision-makers may argue that if they remove another manager, the next two will end up at Parkhead anyhow, even if, as English points out, Clement is in the same territory as Beale, Van Bronckhorst, and even Pedro Caixinha when they were released.
On current indications, it appears to be a potentially awful outcome in either case, but if the club has already resolved to tough it out come hell or high water over the next two seasons, things might get very uncomfortable in Govan.
In other Rangers news, an Ibrox hero has been named as an emergency replacement if Clement is offered the post.
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