Philippe Clement has been told his job with Rangers is safe for now — with the proviso that results start to improve under his watch.
The Belgian has come under increased pressure in recent days with Thursday’s draw at Dundee meaning his side have taken just three points from their last four games on the road to all but end their title challenge.
The 50-year-old felt the wrath of visiting supporters at the end of the latest setback, with the Rangers Supporters Association later releasing a statement calling for his dismissal.
But after Clement insisted he was ‘200 per cent’ sure he still bad the backing of his paymasters, new chief executive Patrick Stewart this morning confirmed the club was retaining the manager’s services while stressing the need to see an improvement in the team’s fortunes.
‘I need to make some tough decisions, it comes with the role, but I am committed to making the right ones for Rangers, not just the popular ones,’ Stewart said.
‘So, cutting to the chase, we are backing Philippe at this time as a board.
Philippe Clement has come under increasing pressure over Rangers’ recent poor form
New chief executive Patrick Stewart insists the club won’t shy away from difficult decisions
Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Dundee was their FOURTH straight failure to win away from home
‘It’s about taking a deeper look at the issues, addressing those problems and staying focused on building a stronger future for the club.
‘Changing a manager isn’t a silver bullet solution.
‘You know where I’ve worked previously (Manchester United), and that isn’t something that has been effective there, it’s not effective at a lot of football clubs where there’s constant change of manager.
‘I do want to say about Philippe, he’s really committed. I’ve worked with several managers and Philippe is as hard working and committed as any I’ve seen. First in the training ground, last out, he’s always on, always available, always thinking about it.
‘So, he is absolutely committed to bringing success to the club, and we’re committed to providing him with that support.
‘But, just to reiterate, it’s a results-orientated business, so we know that results have to improve.’
Stewart, who would not be drawn on a timeframe to see that necessary improvement, denied suggestions that the board had failed to remove Clement from his position because the club could not afford another severance package.
‘We wouldn’t make any decision on a manager based on financial reasons, absolutely not,’ he stressed.
Stewart and new chairman Fraser Thornton will undergo a root-and-branch review of the club
‘That isn’t in the long-term interest of the club, that’s not putting the club first.
‘So every decision we’re making is looking at the long term and we’ve got good revenues, we’ve got record revenues. You saw that from the results that were released prior to the AGM, so this isn’t a financially driven decision, no.’
Stewart revealed that the club is to undertake a root and branch review of all it’s football operations to help establish the reasons why it’s repeatedly underperforming.
‘I met with all of the football departments at Auchenhowie last Tuesday, and it was to introduce myself to them, as we’d done an all-staff at Ibrox that some couldn’t attend, so I wanted to make sure that we’d done an all-staff at Auchenhowie when we could speak to everyone,’ he added.
‘But it was also to inform them that we’re doing a root and branch review of the entire football department.
‘Everything is in scope and it starts on Monday. Because I think if we’re honest with ourselves as a club, and being honest to the supporters, if we look at everything in its entirety, the football club has not been where it wants to be for several years now.
Fans turned on Clement after the latest setback… but he has the club’s backing for now
‘So, we’re going to review everything that we’re doing at Auchenhowie and we’re going to look at it from a number of different angles.
‘We want to ensure that we’ve got structures in place to succeed. Every decision that we make needs to be focused on one goal, which is bringing success to Rangers and making our supporters proud.’
Stewart insists the club have no intention of selling any player who’s making a positive contribution in this window whilst stressing that it might only be in a position to bring in a maximum of two new faces.
‘We have no intention of selling the players at performing on the park at the moment and why would we expect any other club that’s challenging for trophies to do so,’ he said.
‘It’s a very low likelihood that top quality players are going to be on the market. Even if we can secure a player that fits the profile, bringing them in in January means there’s no time to bed them in.’