Sacking Philippe Clement 'might not be easiest decision' as road to redemption begins

There is a school of thought that Rangers manager Philippe Clement might take some solace from being 45 miles away from Ibrox on Sunday lunchtime.

Instead of 50,000 fans - on the assumption all of the disaffected crowd would turn up - baying for blood, he will have to face a slither of travelling Rangers supporters tucked up in the corner of Tynecastle’s Roseburn Stand for the Premiership clash away at Hearts.

It will be a full seven days since Rangers hit their lowest point of the season, a shocking 1-0 home reversal by Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup. This week has been long for Clement. The Belgian said he was desperate for another game to come along, so some wrongs could be put right.

Embattled Rangers manager Philippe Clement takes his team to Tynecastle. | SNS Group

Had this encounter been in Govan, there is no doubt Clement would have felt yet more venom from the stands. The 50-year-old had abuse hurled at him from fans straight after Queen's Park. Most Rangers-minded individuals want him gone, but so far the Ibrox board is standing by their man.

Clement rejected the notion that he would rather play away from home right now, perhaps cognisant of his team’s struggles on the road this season in the Premiership. "No, I don't agree with that because I know the fans,” the Rangers manager said in the build-up to the match. “If the team plays really well and they show quality, they're always behind them. So if it's away from home, even at home it's even stronger because there's more people and more fans. Because if the team starts games on the front foot and they show quality, the fans are always behind them.”

They are not behind Clement - not unless it was to push him out the door. Saddled with poor finances and a fractured structure behind the scenes, the last thing new CEO Patrick Stewart wants to do is to be forced into change at Rangers. Clement signed a new deal in the summer and it would cost a pretty penny to relinquish him.

"I don't know if it's the easiest decision, because it needs to make things better also,” was Clement’s take on whether axing him would be the cure to all Rangers’ ills. “You can change and change and change. So, I know that the board knows what's being done every day, with the squad and in the club, and in that way you get the support I think.  

Clement was candid enough to admit this is the toughest moment of a management career that has taken him to Club Brugge and Monaco. "Yes, yeah it is,” he said. “And for sure because of this game, this last game, it's the most freaky one also, to lose that game. And because of that with all the reactions, yes that's the toughest moment until now. But I'm not running away from it.”

Queen's Park stunned Rangers last weekend. | SNS Group

He refuted that the pressure at Rangers is greater than in previous roles. "No, no I don't think so. I think it's the same in Bruges where you need to win every game. But I didn't have freaky results like we had now. And I understand all the anger around that result.”

Clement would not be blamed for being a hermit this past week. Any Rangers fan who crossed his path might be tempted to give him a piece of their mind. "I'm not so much out and about,” said Clement on whether he has copped more abuse. “I walk in the street in moments, but not much because we're a lot of times here [at the Rangers Training Centre]. So none of that.

“I know this club really well after more than one year. So there are no surprises in that sense and I understand the anger and disappointment. I'm very motivated to give the fans better times.”

After such depths of despair, Rangers require a win over Hearts. It will not be easy. The Jambos have not lost this year and held Clement’s team to a goalless draw on the opening day of the season. Clement gave an insight into how he would revive his players.

"To speak with them, to see who needs what, to see what we need as a team, to learn from this last game where mistakes are made and things they did well,” he explained. “And to focus on Hearts because it's a different game, it's a different opponent. And we need to show back again what the team has shown the last few weeks, this last period, where they played good games also domestically. So that's what we need to show on Sunday.”

Rangers' Philippe Clement roars his on team on against Queen's Park. | Getty Images

If Clement is fighting for his future, so too is a rump of the squad that has underachieved too often - particularly on the domestic front. Some will leave in the summer, but the manager is convinced many also have a long-term future.

"I think a lot of players have a really big future, yes,” Clement added. “And that the club, there was a big step to make, to make the club healthy again in the summer. Financially, with making decisions. But a lot of those decisions will make the club even healthier in the future. I'm very convinced of that.”

The harder part will be convincing an angry fanbase. A win over Hearts would be one tiny step on the road to redemption.