Patrick Stewart has grounds for clear Rangers message to Philippe Clement after latest slip-up

Patrick Stewart has only been in place as Rangers CEO for a fortnight, but he might already have grounds to read the riot act to manager Philippe Clement.

Do not, under any circumstances, think about resting your best players again, might be his principal demand. Particularly in the current dire circumstances, with the Ibrox side now 14 points adrift of Celtic. This Rangers team are not good enough at the best of times. They can ill-afford to be without the few game-changing players they have at their disposal, as was demonstrated against Motherwell here.

Despite improving markedly following the half-time introduction of Vaclav Cerny and Hamza Igamane, two star men in recent weeks, Rangers still fell further behind their rivals at the top ahead of Thursday’s Old Firm clash. There was little appetite among their supporters for celebrating at the end. Two fine finishes in the 50th and 68th minute from Igamane secured a point but brought little respite to the beleaguered Clement in this last outing of a trying year.

Rangers came back from behind but ended up drawing 2-2 with Motherwel.. | SNS Group

The away players sought to acknowledge the supporters but were given very little credit in return, despite the spirited two-goal comeback. Angry gestures were the order of the day at that end of the ground. The home fans, meanwhile, applauded fervently. Motherwell ultras had erected a banner at the start displaying Macaulay Culkin’s character in the Christmas classic, Home Alone. “This is our house, we have to defend it,” it read along the bottom. The words seemed prophetic as Motherwell threw their bodies in the way of shots as the clock ticked down and with Igamane, who replaced Cyriel Dessers at half-time, hunting his hat-trick.

Is coming back from two goals down to claim a point at a difficult away venue a good result? For most teams, it would be. But Rangers are not most teams. Their present predicament leaves no room for slip-ups. A sharp volley of booing greeted the final whistle after ten minutes of added time had been played following multiple VAR interruptions. These jeers were mild compared to what had been heard at half-time, with the visitors trailing by two goals and onlookers wondering whether a manager of Rangers had ever been sacked 48 hours before an Old Firm derby before.

There was a lot to unpack here, including a red card for Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell. Things were heating up with the visitors in the throes of mounting a comeback. Kettlewell was shown a yellow card for his complaints after Lennon Miller was booked for a foul on Oscar Cortes and then collected a red a short time afterwards following a dispute with the fourth official.

Kettlewell was in the stand when Motherwell saw two goals ruled out while 2-1 ahead. Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland did not look too clever on either occasion but was spared by referee Kevin Clancy, with VAR backing both decisions. The recent spate of goals being scored from corners seemed to be continuing here but Clancy felt substitute Tony Watt had impeded Butland as Andy Halliday’s set-piece curled in over his head. Watt was also in the thick of things at another disallowed goal which was ruled out for an earlier offside.

As he had suggested he might do sometime in the near future, Clement opted to rest Cerny. Choosing to rest arguably his best player in a must-win game – though aren’t they all now? – at a difficult venue raised eyebrows, particularly since Ianis Hagi was already absent due to a fever. It left a creative vacuum in the side. Being two goals down helped Clement reconsider Cerny's need for a break. He was brought on at half-time for the ineffectual Kieran Dowell.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement. | SNS Group

Dessers was his usual self after being restored to the starting line-up and passed up a gilt-edged chance to put Rangers one up after a cross from Ridvan Yilmaz. The visitors were seeing plenty of the ball but doing so little with it. They paid the price after 15 minutes when Robin Propper’s weak attempt to clear his lines hit off Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, with the Rangers defender claiming handball. Not only did Tawanda Maswanhise play on, he played his Australian teammate in and Stamatelopoulos prodded the ball beneath Butland. A VAR check did not deliver what Rangers wanted – a handball verdict against the eventual goalscorer.

Worse followed for Rangers. Maswanhise brought down Miller’s header before easily evading James Tavernier and firing into the far corner. It was an exquisite finish, with Motherwell now looking well set to record their first home league win over Rangers since Boxing Day 2002. It would have been a fine time to rectify this record on what was an emotional day at Fir Park. Applause rang out in the 10th minute on the 17th anniversary of Phil O’Donnell’s death. The hosts held on to honour him.