Rangers supporters will demand Philippe Clement’s dismissal if he fails to deliver results, despite his surprising new contract, claims Chris Sutton.
Speaking live on Sky Sports during the opening day trip to Hearts on 3 August, Sutton dismissed the Gers boss’ extension to 2028—confirmed a day earlier—as merely a show of unity after an “embarrassing summer,” including the “shambles” of the Ibrox building work fiasco.
The former Celtic striker insists that a poor result at Tynecastle, another Old Firm defeat on 1 September, and failure to reach the Champions League group stage will render the new deal meaningless.
Sutton said: “They’ve put all their eggs in the Philippe Clement basket, but with the shambles of having to play games at Hampden, it’s been an embarrassing summer for Rangers. This is now a show of togetherness and solidarity at the start of the season to say, ‘We’re all pulling in the right direction’. [But] poor start here today, lose against Celtic at the end of the month, lose in Europe, and things will turn. The length of contract just does not matter because the punters’ll get him out anyway if they’re not doing well enough, as we saw last season with Michael Beale.”
Rangers Sacked Michael Beale After a Poor Start Following Rebuild
There’s a limit to everything, so if the situation deteriorates rapidly, another sacking couldn’t be entirely ruled out. However, there’s enough confidence in the Belgian at Ibrox to back him for the long haul right now, with the hierarchy recognizing the damage caused by Beale’s and Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s sackings in the previous two campaigns.
As it stands, there are no plans to remove Clement even if the campaign starts poorly [The Herald, 27 July]. The Light Blues hope the new season doesn’t follow last term’s footsteps, where Beale lost the opener and barely improved after his own transfer rebuild.
The new contract may be an acknowledgment from the club that they’ve imposed an unenviable situation on Clement with the Ibrox mess and the transfer market pieces he’s picking up from his predecessors. So, it surely strengthens his position, but few are under any illusions that his job is now safe regardless of major warning signs in the new campaign.
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