Philippe Clement sacking: Rangers poised for official announcement after series of board meetings
Rangers begin search for a new manager
Rangers are set to officially announce that Philippe Clement has been sacked as manager after the Ibrox hierarchy decided that they could no longer continue with the Belgian at the helm of first-team affairs.
Clement has been under extreme pressure since the humiliating Scottish Gas Scottish Cup exit at the hands of William Hill Championship side Queen’s Park a fortnight ago, and a first Ibrox loss to St Mirren since 1991 in the Premiership on Saturday was the final straw for the Gers board.
The former Club Brugge and Monaco boss described the display in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat as “by far the worst I’ve seen in all the time I’ve been here” and looked defeated when he addressed the media after the defeat by the Buddies.
Clement succeeded Michael Beale in October 2023 and led Gers to the League Cup two months after his appointment. He also briefly hauled them into title contention last season, but they eventually finished eight points adrift of Celtic and he was unable to recapture the promising form of his early months in the job.
Although he led the Light Blues to the last 16 of the Europa League, where they will face Fenerbahce next month, the 50-year-old will vacate his position with Rangers 13 points adrift of city rivals Celtic at the top of the league and likely to end the season without a domestic trophy.
The decision will also cost Rangers financially, as Clement was handed a new contract last August that took him until the summer of 2028. While the Ibrox club continues to count the cost of sacking Clement's predecessor Michael Beale in 2023, chief executive Patrick Stewart said last week that the club would not allow money to dictate whether the Belgian stayed in post.
Rangers are also in the midst of takeover talks with American investors that are backed by the San Francisco 49ers franchise. The nature of those discussions could stall the permanent appointment of a new manager, with a sporting director also set to be added into the structure. Rangers are expected to announce the identity of their interim boss following on from Clement's official departure.
Rangers are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Kilmarnock in the Premiership before hosting Motherwell on Saturday at Ibrox.
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