Philippe Clement looks as though he is sleepwalking to the Rangers sack after yet another defeat in the Scottish Premiership, with Aberdeen downing them 2-1 in the league on Wednesday night – and Celtic legend Chris Sutton has criticised the Belgian for his tenure so far this season.
Rangers lost in the Granite City to record their third loss of the Premiership season, and it’s a far cry from last season when Clement’s start to the campaign was promising, having won the League Cup with the Gers in his first two months. But this season could not have gone any worse with the club almost already out of the title race – and Sutton has taken aim.
Sutton: Clement “Off The Rails” at Rangers
The Celtic legend has torn into the Gers star
Writing in his Daily Record column, Sutton stated that the Belgian might not have long in the job, saying that he has ‘gone off the rails’.
Rangers’s Scottish Premiership statistics – Divisional ranking | ||
|---|---|---|
Stats | Output | Squad rank |
Wins | 6 | 3rd |
Goals scored | 15 | =3rd |
Goals conceded | 8 | 2nd |
Shots per game | 15.5 | 2nd |
The Hoops man compared him to predecessor boss Michael Beale, and lambasted the former Club Brugge manager for ‘spouting gibberish’. He said:
“Look, no one likes seeing anyone lose their job. But you’ve got to wonder how bad it has to get before someone – anyone – at Ibrox makes a big decision. We keep hearing Clement and his players saying they can still compete for the title. Right now it’s hard to see them even competing for second. The club is not in great shape off the park right now with no permanent chairman, no chief executive and no director of football.
“They have the Belgian Beale in charge. I can’t believe quite how off the rails the manager has gone. After his first few months there were positive signs. He secured a trophy and spoke a lot of sense. After the nonsense of Michael Beale, they looked to have a sensible, serious operator in charge.
“They now have a Belgian waffler who is spouting the kind of gibberish that Pedro Caixinha came out with. The warning signs were there last year with his ‘moral victory’ against Celtic, and it’s got worse and worse.”
But it wasn’t just the Belgian who was under the microscope – with captain James Tavernier also picking up criticism, whilst Mohamed Diomande has been slated for failing to live up to the challenge.
“James Tavernier doesn’t look happy and while Cyriel Dessers lacks composure, he doesn’t exactly get a lot of help. For £4m plus, Mohamed Diomande should be dominating games yet I still don’t know what he brings.
“Connor Barron is a good little player, but he should be one for the here and now at a club like Rangers. I know they are trying to slash the wage bill, but it looks crazy getting shot of experience like John Lundstram and Connor Goldson for pennies and then spending money on replacements that are nowhere near up to the same standard.”
Clement Has Limited Time at The Helm
The Belgian could be gone by Monday
Rangers have struggled massively this season, winning just six of their opening ten games and already falling nine points behind in the title race – behind both Celtic and Aberdeen.
Their best chance of a trophy remains the League Cup semi-final against Motherwell on Sunday, and if he can’t drag his side to a win at Hampden Park, it could leave Rangers chiefs with a huge decision to make.
Statistics courtesy of WhoScored. Correct as of 02-11-24.