Philippe Clement is under intense scrutiny from Rangers supporters after he referenced last week’s 6-0 thrashing of Ross County in an attempt to deflect attention from the mounting pressure following a dispiriting Old Firm defeat to Celtic.
The Belgian manager’s winless run in the fierce Glasgow derby has now stretched to five games, with Celtic cruising to a 3-0 victory at Parkhead on Sunday.
Goals from Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Callum McGregor have opened up a five-point chasm between the two sides after just four Premiership matches, leaving Rangers level with Aberdeen and trailing their bitter rivals.
It’s been a chaotic start to the season for Rangers, both on and off the pitch. The Light Blues’ early campaign has been marred by inconsistency in domestic competition and a damaging exit in the Champions League qualifiers, where they were soundly beaten by Dynamo Kiev over two legs.
The loss to Celtic has only intensified the spotlight on Clement, who now faces mounting criticism from the Ibrox faithful.
When questioned about the urgent need to string together a series of positive results, Clement was quick to bring up the emphatic victory over Ross County as a reminder of what his team is capable of.
The 6-0 win, which was Rangers’ first six-goal haul since they hammered Motherwell by the same scoreline in the final stages of their title-winning season in 2021, was offered as evidence of the team’s potential.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, Clement said: “Yes but don’t forget what happened last week. It was the best result in around four years for the club. It’s not that black and white. It’s maybe more dark grey but that’s normal. I don’t want to lose 3-0 but we need to take the right conclusion out of that and the right conclusion is that we should have made it 3-2 or 3-3 today by being more efficient.
“They had three shots on target and we had four shots on target. Ball possession was 47-53 per cent. There were a lot of things equal but not the result and it is about results in football. It’s about having the quality to finish the job and those are things to work on in the next weeks and months.”
However, this attempt to highlight the positive aspects of Rangers’ recent performances has not sat well with the club’s supporters. Clement’s comments, made in the aftermath of the Old Firm defeat, were swiftly met with disdain on social media.
The manager’s decision to reference the win over Ross County, especially in the context of a heavy loss to their fiercest rivals, was seen by many as a sign of disconnect and was labelled as humiliating.
One irate fan took to social media to voice their frustration, writing:
“Can you imagine Walter (Smith), Eck (Alex McLeish) or (Steven) Gerrard citing a victory over Ross County after getting humiliated against them?”
Another supporter expressed similar discontent, pointing out: “Aye, talking about scudding Ross County—the same team that went out cup to Spartans the previous week, by the way!”
A third fan was even more blunt in their assessment, stating: “He’s done here, don’t think he can come back from that.”
Clement now faces a tough challenge to win back the support of the Rangers faithful as the pressure continues to mount.