Troubled Rangers sack under-fire coach Clement

Glasgow: Scottish giants Rangers on Sunday said they had sacked under-fire coach Philippe Clement in the aftermath of Saturday´s embarrassing 2-0 defeat against St Mirren.

Clement, 50, had been facing mounting pressure throughout a dismal campaign and the Scottish Premiership club have now put the Belgian out of his misery after less than two years in charge at Ibrox.

“Rangers Football Club can confirm it has tonight parted company with men´s first-team manager, Philippe Clement,” a club statement said. “The club would like to put on record their sincere thanks to Philippe for his hard work and dedication during his spell in charge. A further update from the club will follow in due course.”

Rangers´ humiliating Scottish Cup exit against second tier Queen´s Park two weeks ago left Clement in a desperate battle to avoid the axe. But a first loss to St Mirren at Ibrox since 1991 proved to be the final straw for the Rangers board amid growing fan unrest.

Former Club Brugge and Monaco boss Clement described the display against St Mirren as “by far the worst I´ve seen in all the time I´ve been here”. Clement succeeded Michael Beale in October 2023 and led Rangers to League Cup glory two months after his appointment.

He also briefly hauled them into title contention last season, but they eventually finished eight points adrift of Celtic and he was unable to recapture the promising form of his early months in the job.

Second-placed Rangers are currently 13 points adrift of top-flight leaders Celtic, who beat their Glasgow rivals in the Scottish League Cup final earlier this season. Clement´s dismissal came after reports claimed Rangers are in advanced talks about a multi-million investment from a USA-led consortium which includes Paraag Marathe, president of 49ers Enterprises and chairman of Championship leaders Leeds.