‘Rangers locked in vicious cycle as Clement departs’

A year ago, almost to the week, Rangers beat St Johnstone 3-0 and hit the top of the Scottish Premiership table, a seven-point deficit against Celtic now transformed into a two-point advantage.

Under Philippe Clement, a manager who had moved to Ibrox from Belgium in October and built his reputation on league victories with two different clubs, they won their ninth game in a row.

He won the League Cup on his first occasion, but he only lost one of his first 26 games in charge of Ibrox.

The club, it seemed, had their great redeemer.

“As a group we were scrambling”, said goalkeeper Jack Butland of life before Clement. “We were running down a cul-de-sac into a dead end”.

Clement, said Butland, had changed everything, Only he had not. Off the field, the club swung like a boat on choppy waters, lacking the stability that came with him.

He had little to spare for players; excessive spending has been squandered on poor players, and downsizing has been a regular occurrence for him.

His team was flaky, inconsistent, and callow as he tried to create a young team with sell-on value in the present while remaining competitive in the past.

As Celtic vanished over the horizon and Rangers’ hair caught fire in their ferocity in search of them, there were the weaknesses in his own management, which were not immediately obvious but became more apparent as the season progressed.

He was unable to consistently overcome the low blocks of inferior teams due to his lack of players and managerial skill.

Rangers have failed to win ten games against nine different domestic sides this season, even with a small budget and a few games against Celtic.

They have never been far from disaster even when they win. The scent of fury persisted over Ibrox even when the team automatically qualified for the last 16 of the Europa League, with performances by Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United included.

You were always aware that turbulence was about to break out.

Clement, who was both large and tough in those early days, was gradually put to sleep by the pressure of attempting to steer the ship away from the dock while it was already tucked behind the harbour wall.

When Clement first encountered difficulties, his Ibrox bosses assured him that they would keep faith in him and that sacking a different manager would result in a new Immediately following this, the company’s board members at Ibrox informed him that nothing would be better than starting over.

Behind closed doors, it was made known that if Clement’s CV came to Ibrox in an unidentified form, the directors and supporters would be in awe of him.

They already had him. And at least the board was determined to keep him, or at least the majority of them.

They desired Clement to resurrect the club in order to make the dressing room more youthful and possibly valuable in the transfer market. They may not have won any awards in the past, but they will handle that.

The fans might be angry, but they will survive the maelstrom to benefit the most.

A new manager’s search leads to a new broom in the dressing room, and so it begins. Coaches moved out, coaches moved in, players exiting, others arriving, compensation, a new style of football, a fresh start. Another one.

Clement bites the dust after Saturday’s pitiful home loss to St Mirren following on from the mortifying Scottish Cup exit to Queen’s Park, which came uncomfortably soon after dropped points against Dundee, Hibernian and Motherwell, which was just three days after, well, a defeat by St Mirren.

Even those who nuancedly attacked Clement with boardroom insecurity, downsizing, poor hiring, and a mentally weak dressing room went out of the woods.

Some of the performances of recent years don’t return. Even though Clement’s failure was much more than just Clement, no manager was likely to be able to recover from those domestic losses and draws.

The debris will be picked up by the new manager. When there is no pressure and the game is open, he has a doubtful character in his dressing room, where he can deliver against stronger opponents in Europe but who also lack the strength to take on stronger opponents at home when they must win in a dogfight.

Put simply, they can’t be trusted.

Clement’s plan to attack domestic rivals who stayed up all day was problematic, but to lay the blame solely at his feet would be to give his fragile players, many of whom earned high salaries, a pass they did not deserve.

Good players can problem-solve on the hoof. The manager should handle it for the devout. There are far too many Rangers leaders and followers in the dressing room. Many of them would not want you to accompany you in the trenches.

How many of them does the new manager actually want, it remains to be seen. No regime change comes cheap.