Clement's desperate fight for Rangers hearts and minds meets Rodgers' Old Firm love affair
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Philippe Clement can only hope the law of averages is due to swing in his favour. If not, the sense of an elongated, unsatisfactory conclusion to his spell as the manager of Rangers will have intensified by Thursday evening.
Brendan Rodgers has tasted defeat in only one of 20 Old Firm matches. Celtic’s manager has presided over 16 wins in that run. Clement would be forgiven trepidation, then, as Rangers prepare to host their oldest foes. The Belgian is yet to defeat Celtic, having faced them half a dozen times.
Clement can reasonably point out that any focus on this fixture is unfair. Celtic, after all, are vastly superior to Rangers; they have been for more than a decade, save the odd notable high for Glasgow’s blue half. Cliche suggests form books fly from windows in derby games, which is typically untrue. Given Celtic have dominated Scottish football in this era, it follows logic Rangers will have a tough time beating them.
Clement’s problem sits in an inability to capture hearts and minds. There are precious few traces of Rangers’ progress, almost 15 months into the 50-year-old’s tenure. This is why he desperately needs to defeat Celtic. The manager is perceived, rightly or wrongly, as an excuse-maker at a time when Rangers need straight-talking. They are 14 points adrift in the Premiership. Their domestic away form is awful given they spend far more than anyone other than Celtic. The only reliable thing about Rangers is their unreliability.
Rangers supporters will historically turn a blind eye to style when results are good. Clement’s team are not delivering on either front. The softness of Clement’s Rangers was demonstrated in recent weeks, as the strong display in losing a League Cup final on penalties to Celtic was followed by a loss at St Mirren and draw with Motherwell. Rangers were 2-0 down at half-time at Fir Park on Sunday, with supporters mutinous. Next up, the reigning champions at a time when Rangers are ominously short of fit defenders.
Clement sees safety in meeting alternative targets, such as developing and selling “exciting young players”. Although Rangers may be about to improve in that area, there has still been considerable wastage since Clement replaced the hapless Michael Beale. Clement has also been empowered by a messy regime above him, comprising umpteen minority shareholders plus a chief executive and chairman who have been in office for less than a month. Who calls the shots at Ibrox is hard to fathom. There is also no attractive list of candidates to fill a managerial post where, owing to Celtic’s on- and off-field strength, second best looks inevitable for years.
“I see what everybody is doing to get this club back to the level it needs to be at,” said Clement. “But I also knew that would be a really big challenge. I took that challenge with every bit of energy in my body and I will continue that way. I know when you don’t get the results that people expect, you will get criticism. I also know the people inside the club know what the plan is. A big step in the summer was to be sustainable again and invest in young players.” Clement’s rationale here is sound but is contradicted by routine Rangers’ messaging about needing to win now.
Rodgers has had to bite back against the sense this fixture is a “dead rubber” for his players. Indeed, the derby remains as good as it gets on the domestic front for Celtic. It has been slightly comedic to hear Rodgers laud his players for recent wins over St Johnstone and Motherwell without any admission of the gulf between Celtic and such opposition. Think Tolstoy versus a toddler at Scrabble. Rodgers seems to want the world to believe Scotland offers a serious and seriously competitive league when in truth that stopped being the case long ago. This season’s Champions League, where Celtic have performed very well, has toned down that debate but the unsatisfactory nature of the Scottish Premiership will frustrate Rodgers – again – eventually. He is therefore correct to talk up the sense of occasion as Celtic visit Ibrox.
Should Rodgers maintain his love affair with this fixture, remaining Clement credit will have drained from the bank. Rangers will therefore drift towards another manager, whether immediately or at the end of this season. No amount of big-picture comment from Clement will alter that reality. What he would give for three points and a fresh lease of life.