Rangers CEO backs Clement to turn poor season around

Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart has revealed Philippe Clement will remain the club’s manager despite growing pressure from supporters amid a poor run of results.

Clement’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee on Thursday, leaving them 15 points adrift of leaders Celtic, which they extended to 18 after their win over Ross County.

The result also saw Rangers’ poor form away from home continue, having won just three of their 11 games on their travels this season, leaving fans unhappy at full-time.

Clement has, however, got Rangers into a strong position in Europe, with his squad eighth in the Europa League table, enough for automatic qualification to the knockout stages.

But, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Scottish Premiership meeting with St. Johnstone, Stewart said that Clement has his full support, but acknowledged results must improve.

“There’s been a lot of talk about results, and there’s been a lot of talk about the manager, and I know that the spotlight is on [chairman] Fraser [Thornton] and myself, but particularly on me. But that’s the job, I’m okay with that,” Stewart said.

“I need to make some tough decisions, it comes with the role, but I am committed to making the right ones for Rangers, not just the popular ones.

“So, cutting to the chase, we are backing Philippe at this time as a board.

“It’s about having a deeper look at the issues, addressing those problems, and staying focused on building a stronger future. Changing a manager isn’t a silver-bullet solution.

“You know where I’ve worked before, and that isn’t something that has been effective there, it’s not effective at a lot of football clubs where there’s constant change of manager.”

“What I do need to do, and what the board are supporting me with, is uncovering the underlying issues and addressing those,” Clement continued.

“There’s been several years when we’ve been underperforming, and there’s something deeper rooted here, and I agree with that.

“So we are working with Philippe to address consistency issues, and I’m also not going to speculate on what happens if results don’t improve.

“If the results don’t improve, obviously I can’t give Philippe any cast-iron guarantees. He and I have both been around football long enough to know that isn’t the case.

“I’m not going to get into how many games Philippe has to save his job, that’s not what we’re about. We’re about helping Philippe to identify why there is the inconsistency and let’s address that.

“This isn’t a financially-driven decision. To be clear, sticking with Philippe isn’t about trying to avoid a tough decision.

“In fact, I think if anything, changing a manager would be the easy decision, because a lot of supporters are calling for that. I’m aware of that, I’ve seen the statements.

“I’ve worked with several managers and Philippe is as hard-working and committed as any I’ve seen. First in the training ground, last out, he’s always on, always available, always thinking about it.

“He is absolutely committed to bringing success to the club, and we’re committed to providing him with that support.”