'Bit of Bother' - Pundit shares 'Predicament' Clement & Rangers face

Kevin Thomson credited Rangers for backing up their impressive Europa League win at Nice with a gritty triumph at St Johnstone but says Phillipe Clement’s side are still in a “predicament”.

The Gers thumped the Ligue 1 outfit 4-1 on Thursday and had to gut it out at McDiarmid Park just three days later with a 1-0 victory.

Ex-Gers midfielder Thomson, who does punditry for the likes of BBC Sport and Sky Sports, said it is a “reality” that playing domestically so quick after a European away day.

But he concedes they are in the position now where they simply cannot afford to cede anymore ground to Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic – who they trail by 11 points down in third.

Speaking on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast (2 December), he said: “It was a brilliant result through the week. I don’t think anyone could have seen that coming.

“But to then go to a tough place like St Johnstone, I don’t think people should underestimate how difficult it is to play on the Thursday night before. It’s not an excuse, it’s the reality.

“It’s a fight and you have to have the mentality and the dig to get over the line. They got over the line so they deserve the plaudits, albeit they’ll be small ones.

“For the manager and the staff and the group of players, I think it gives them something positive to try to build on.

“But it’s fair to say they’re only one result away from being in a bit of bother and they’re almost in that predicament where they can’t afford to lose any more ground on Celtic.”

Rangers need to improve their standing in the Scottish Premiership

If the Gers’ season were based on what has happened in the Scottish League Cup and the Europa League, fans would be more than happy with the effort their team has put in.

However, that unfortunately isn’t the case and it feels like they’ve fallen short in one of, if not the most important competitions across their season.

The Gers were expected to at least put up a decent challenge for the title this term, but instead, things couldn’t have been further away from that.

Philippe Clement’s future has rightly been brought into question on multiple occasions, and unless he can find a way to turn things around in the league, it’s going to be hard for the Rangers board to continue justifying why he’s still in his role.

There have already been numerous names linked with the hot seat and with Patrick Stewart set to take on his role on 16 December, things could finally start moving forward behind-the-scenes.

In other Rangers news, an update has been shared on the Gers’ pursuit of Lawrence Shankland.

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