Rangers sack Clement following loss to St Mirren

Rangers have sacked manager Philippe Clement following Saturday's home defeat by St Mirren, with the side 13 points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic.

The Belgian, 50, had been under pressure this season as his team struggled to match Celtic's consistency and this month's Scottish Cup loss at home to Queen's Park increased supporter unrest.

Off the pitch, 49ers Enterprises are negotiating a potential takeover of Rangers, which could be completed between April and June.

"The club would like to put on record their sincere thanks to Philippe for his hard work and dedication during his spell in charge," Rangers said.

"A further update from the club will follow in due course."

Clement joined Rangers in October 2023 following Michael Beale's 10-month reign, soon winning the League Cup and leading the team to the top of the Premiership.

However, a poor record against Celtic contributed to missing out on last season's league title and Scottish Cup.

This term, league defeats by Celtic, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and St Mirren put Clement under scrutiny and Rangers missed out on another League Cup triumph by losing the final to Celtic on penalties.

Rangers' league victory over Celtic at Ibrox in January temporarily eased the pressure but further dropped points at Hibernian and Dundee as well as this month's home losses ultimately sealed Clement's fate.

After Hibs had beaten Celtic earlier on Saturday, St Mirren's win was their first at Ibrox since 1991 and came less than two weeks after Championship side Queen's Park knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup.

Kilmarnock host Rangers in the Premiership on Wednesday (20:00 GMT), with Motherwell the Ibrox side's next visitors on Saturday (15:00).

In Europe, Clement's record was competent, emulating last season's achievement of reaching the last 16 of the Europa League and Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce will meet Rangers over two legs in March for a place in the quarter-finals.

Last week, chief executive Patrick Stewart indicated the board were minded not to make a managerial change while Rangers maintained an interest in Europe.

"We have been underperforming for several seasons now and that's not down to a manager," he said. "We have changed the manager and it has not made a difference.

"Until we sort the root causes, then it's akin to trying to fix a broken house and starting with the ceiling instead of starting with the foundations.

"For all that the Queen's Park result was disastrous, we do also have to give credit to Philippe and the team for the Europa League run. I don't want to take a step that would put further progress in the Europa League at risk."

Clement exits after winning 55 of his 86 games in charge, drawing 16 and losing 15.

Turbulent period on and off pitch

Defeat at the qualifying stages of the Champions League in August had limited Clement's summer transfer budget amid a worsening financial picture off the pitch.

Rangers announced a £17.2m loss for the year to June, up £4.1m from the previous accounting period, prompting a reduction to the first-team wage bill for this season.

Contrasted with three-in-a-row champions Celtic's £13.4m profit, Rangers' failure to reach the Champions League group stage last season or league phase this term was laid bare.

Former Club Brugges and Monaco boss Clement had earlier in the season signed a new deal until 2028, meaning Rangers face a managerial compensation pay-out for the third season running.

Indeed, Rangers are looking for their fifth permanent manager inside four years with neither Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Beale nor Clement able to put in a credible enough challenge to Celtic since Steven Gerrard won the Ibrox side's last league title in 2021.

In recent months, there have been boardroom changes at Ibrox, with Stewart joining from Manchester United and Fraser Thornton coming in as non-executive chairman.

The chief executive role had been vacant for around six months following James Bisgrove's summer departure while John Gilligan was appointed interim chairman in September after John Bennett had stepped down on health grounds.

Stewart, in his interview with club media last week, stated Rangers were hoping to recruit a new sporting director, an appointment Clement later said he would not have a say in.

'Players must shoulder some blame' - analysis

The new manager will have to pick up the debris. He has a dressing room of doubtful character, players who can deliver against better opposition in Europe - when there's no pressure and the game is open - while lacking the steel to see off weaker teams at home, when they have to win in a dogfight. Put simply, they can't be trusted.

Clement had big issues in plotting against domestic opponents who sat in all day, but to lay the blame solely at his door would be to give his fragile players - many on chunky salaries - a pass they do not deserve.

Good players can problem-solve on the hoof. Frail ones look to the manager to do it for them. The Rangers dressing room has too many followers and nowhere near enough leaders. You wouldn't want many of them in the trenches with you.

It remains to be seen how many of them the new manager actually wants. No regime change comes cheap. As the lawyers go through the process of the club potentially changing hands, Rangers are locked in a vicious cycle. Managers come and go, but everything else stays the same.

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