Confirmed: Clement sack decision made at Rangers after 'a lot of changes'

Philippe Clement will not be sacked if Rangers go on a bad run after John Gilligan put himself “on the line” to confirm the Belgian’s position.

The interim chairman told Sky Sports Scotland on 24 September that he will not interfere on the football side after replacing John Bennett and hopes to replicate the strong relationship his predecessor had with the manager.

He admitted Clement had been put in an “unfair” position having to answer questions about the club which those above should be dealing with, and pointed to changes the manager has made which he will be given time to see the results of.

Gilligan said (56s): “Of course it’s been difficult [for him]. It would be silly to think otherwise. Putting my supporter hat on the word ‘patience’ is not something football supporters are very good at, but I would ask the fans to be patient, the manager’s brought in some very exciting young players. He’s trying to take the age of the squad down, trying to get the trading model correct, and I think this is the moment we hopefully back the manager.”

Asked specifically if there would be a change if results are bad he added: “I’ll put myself on the line here and say we are backing this manager. This man made a lot of changes in the background, we’re starting to see that come in, and we just look forward to the next few weeks and months ahead.”

Rangers boss safe after Ibrox changes made

Stability is clearly the objective as much as possible for the Light Blues when they have had very little of it in recent seasons.

The endless turnover at key positions, including manager and chairman, has contributed to Rangers trailing behind Celtic a long way this term.

Clement was allowed make changes to the medical department during the summer [Rangers Review, 17 June], although they don’t seem to have had a positive effect yet after multiple significant injuries already this term, but allowing him to start the process of moulding the club in his image and then getting rid of him will set the Gers back further.

That doesn’t mean he should be safe no matter what and he will know better than anyone that languishing so far behind Brendan Rodgers won’t fly long term.

There is strong logic in ending the cycle of hiring and firing but that makes it all the more vital that Clement proves he’s the right man that the music has stopped on.

His signings have so far been a mixed bag and there haven’t been too many obvious positive evolutions in style.

The 50-year-old seemed to have all the answers for most of his debut season but the jury is out to a greater extent this term as his stances has made less sense [Gordon Parks, 5 September].

But if the current issues can be attributed to difficulties overhauling the squad with a tight budget and constant disruption around him at the club then it looks like he is going to get the time to build something sustainable long term.

In other Rangers news, James Tavernier doesn’t want to be the Light Blues captain it has been claimed.

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