Rangers sack Clement: A Managerial Failure or a Club in Crisis?
Sixteen points behind Celtic. Another season of domestic disappointment. Another manager out the door. For Rangers fans, it all feels painfully familiar. Three managers in four years, and yet the same problems persist.
Despite guiding the club to the Europa League last 16, last week Philippe Clement’s tenure has come to an abrupt end after just 16 months. A promising start quickly unraveled, and now Rangers must once again search for a new leader to steer them back to the top.
Clement’s Tenure: From Promise to Failure
Following Michael Beale’s disastrous spell, Rangers turned to Philippe Clement, hoping he could restore the club to the summit of Scottish football for the first time since Steven Gerrard’s 2021 title-winning campaign.
Rangers fans still recall the European highs of 2022—famous wins over Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig en route to the Europa League final. After a grueling 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville, Aaron Ramsey’s penalty miss sealed Scottish heartbreak in the shootout.
Just seven months later, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was dismissed with the club far from competing on either the domestic or European stage.
Clement arrived with an impressive pedigree—leading KRC Genk to their first league title in eight years before securing back-to-back championships with Club Brugge.
Initially, he appeared to be the right man. Two unbeaten runs of 16 and 14 games saw Rangers claw back a seven-point deficit from the Beale era to go level at the top, with a game in hand.
But it all came undone. Costly results against Ross County and Dundee handed the momentum back to Celtic. Two Old Firm defeats only reinforced the gulf between the rivals.
Then came the complete collapse. A home defeat to St Mirren left Rangers 13 points behind their rivals with just 11 games remaining. Worse still, their hopes of lifting silverware were shattered by a humiliating 1-0 Scottish Cup loss to Championship side Queen’s Park—just weeks after falling short in the League Cup final against Celtic.
Fan unrest grew, and pressure mounted. In the end, the board had little choice. Results simply weren’t good enough.
Poor Recruitment: A Pipedream Sold to Fans
Rangers fans were promised a squad overhaul last summer. Instead, they were left with a scattergun recruitment strategy that has failed to close the gap on Celtic.
Key figures such as Conor Goldson, John Lundstram, and Borna Barisic departed, making way for a new-look squad. Yet the signings have fallen well short of expectations. Since Calvin Bassey’s £20 million departure to Ajax, the club has struggled to generate profit from player sales or unearth true difference-makers.
Midfielder Mohammed Diomande has been one of the few bright sparks, while Nedim Bajrami—signed from Sassuolo after an eye-catching Euro 2024 campaign—has shown glimpses of quality but lacks consistency.
Meanwhile, Celtic continue to refine their recruitment model, mirroring Brighton’s strategy of identifying and developing undervalued talent.
Their approach has paid dividends, with players like Jota, Matt O’Riley, and Kyogo Furuhashi sold for a combined £60 million—highlighting the growing financial and strategic gap between the two clubs.
Boardroom Chaos: A Club Lacking Direction
Sacking Clement just seven months after handing him a contract extension reflects a club in disarray. Even more baffling is that Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart publicly backed Clement in January, despite a poor run of results.
Backed in January. Sacked in February. The inconsistency is striking—reminiscent of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s handling of Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
A fractured boardroom has played a huge role in Rangers’ struggles. Stability and long-term planning have been in short supply, and unless that changes, no manager will succeed.
A New Era with American Investment?
There may be light at the end of the tunnel. Rangers have agreed a deal in principle for the 49ers Enterprises and insurance tycoon Andrew Cavenagh to acquire Dave King’s 51% stake in the club. With a reported valuation of £5.7 billion behind them, Rangers fans will be hoping for smarter investment both on and off the pitch.
Rangers join a growing list of Scottish clubs backed by American investors. Their ambition? Simple—replicate what Sir Alex Ferguson did at Aberdeen: knock Celtic off their perch and restore Rangers as Scotland’s dominant force.
Who Takes Over?
Russell Martin? Kevin Muscat? A romantic return for Steven Gerrard?
Whoever takes the job faces a monumental rebuild. He inherits a squad with a fragile mentality—capable of rising to the occasion in Europe, where the pressure is off and the game is more open, yet unable to grind out results against domestic sides who sit deep and make life difficult.
Simply put, this group isn’t reliable. Clement struggled to break down well-organised opposition at home, but pinning all the blame on him would be letting the players—many on hefty wages—off the hook.
Too many players lack leadership. Top players adapt in real-time; weaker ones wait for instructions. Right now, Rangers have too many of the latter.
This next appointment has to be right. Another failure could set the club back years.
Rangers simply cannot afford another managerial disaster.
