'Waits for no man' - Pundit view: Tavernier will leave Rangers if Clement stays

James Tavernier will definitely leave Rangers at the end of the season if Philippe Clement remains in charge, says Tam McManus.

The pundit predicted this to be the last season at Ibrox for the long-serving defender on PLZ Soccer (8 November), claiming his “legs have gone” and with the club being awarded fewer penalties his scoring record has dropped off.

Tavernier, 33, was subject of heavy exit speculation last summer and Trabzonspor attempted to sign him [Rangers Review, 23 July], but his form has suffered in a big way since the campaign began and he has started to lose game time to Dujon Sterling and Neraysho Kasanwirjo.

Clement’s future at Ibrox has also been called into question but McManus is clear that if the Belgian stays it will bring to an end Tavernier’s Gers career.

He said (15m): “Yeah I think this’ll be his last season at Rangers, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that under this current manager.

“You can’t forget the service he’s gave the club, he’s been a fantastic servant for Rangers, but time waits for no man and I think his time’s probably up at Rangers, in terms of his legs and his energy.

“And I think that Rangers have got more physical and more powerful players in that area now.”

Dujon Sterling moves ahead of Rangers captain?

Most of those involved would probably handle the situation differently if given the chance to go back and do it again.

The prevailing view coming out of last season was that Tavernier had reached the end of the line at Ibrox and, amid links to joining Steven Gerrard in Saudi Arabia, a late pay day seemed to be on the cards.

But during a frustrating transfer window where Clement was unable to do a large part of his business until late on the noises around a move away for the right-back died down.

Even as he stayed it was expected the manager would increasingly bring Sterling into the side, and yet still Tavernier started every game throughout a dismal first couple of months despite his form being well short.

Now that the change over has started to happen it is impossible for it not to be seen as dropping the skipper as much due to his poor performances as to a pre-planned succession.

Kasanwirjo finally got a start for the 2-1 win over St Mirren on 26 October before Tavernier came back into the line up, but his nightmare showing against Motherwell at the weekend (3 November) saw him substituted and replaced by Sterling, who kept his place for the Europa League trip to Olympiacos.

With the benefit of hindsight Tavernier should have secured a move in the summer to avoid the unsavoury final campaign, and Clement should have taken him out of the firing line sooner if that wasn’t going to happen.

The club appear to be ready to stick with Clement in charge even without hope of a title this term [BBC Sport, 1 November], and a full decade at Ibrox and a testimonial is surely as far as it will go for the record-breaking full-back.

In other Rangers news, the Light Blues have “got no cash” after going backwards and missing a major opportunity.

For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.

The post 'Waits for no man' - Pundit view: Tavernier will leave Rangers if Clement stays appeared first on Ibrox News.