'Huge' - Sutton drops Clement sack verdict after Rangers defeat v Celtic at Hampden Park

Chris Sutton believes Rangers’ clash with Celtic on Sunday was “huge” for Philippe Clement and says another defeat to Brendan Rodgers could see him sacked.

The Light Blues were mightily unlucky not to lift the Scottish League Cup at Hampden Park on 15 December, with the Hoops fighting back goals from Nedim Bajrami, Mohamed Diomande and Danilo.

Goals from Greg Taylor, Daizen Maeda and Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn meant that the game was forced to extra time and penalties, with Maeda eventually scoring the winning spot-kick after Ridvan Yilmaz’s miss.

Speaking via the It’s All Kicking Off podcast [16 December], Sutton said: “He’s been in [the job] a while now and he’s still not beaten Brendan Rodgers in six games. It was huge for him yesterday.

“If we’re being balanced, Rangers can take a fair bit from the way they played. But still, he needed that trophy and the pressure will be on now. The performance levels in the last four or five games have been there.

“It’s a possible treble for Celtic. Rangers are under pressure because, looking at the league table, there’s an 11-point gap and they play in January at Ibrox, which is huge.

“Philippe CLement cannot keep losing to Brenden Rodgers. If he loses that one, I think it will be the end of the road for him.”

Philippe Clement to face Rangers sack after one more defeat v Celtic?

Clement is always under pressure from the Ibrox faithful, and rightly so, given how poor his side have been in the early stages of the 2024/25 campaign.

Lifting the Scottish League Cup could have been a real turning point, and even after a positive display, they have still been forced to walk away from Hampden Park with nothing.

Despite this, and ignoring the 11-point gap in the Scottish Premiership, the Gers have looked extremely positive on the pitch, especially when it comes to Europa League football.

Before the clash at Hampden Park, the Gers were unbeaten in nine games in all competitions, which has seen the manager gain a little bit more respect from the fans, though the pressure is still there.

With defeat in the cup final now, however, the team are back to square one and Clement goes back to facing pressure as Celtic edge closer to another league title.

In other Rangers news, James Tavernier’s reaction to one of Philippe Clement’s decisions looked telling as footage emerged recently.

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