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Philippe Clement will be given time at Rangers but will make a lot of people “very angry” if he doesn’t come up with a result against Celtic in January, says Peter Martin.
The PLZ Soccer host said on the outlet’s YouTube Channel on 14 October, after Tam McManus questioned if the Belgian would last long being second best to the Hoops, that it could come back to bite him in the New Year after Clement insisted it would be different next time in the wake of the 3-0 loss on 1 September.
And between then and now his “biggest problem” at Ibrox is the lack of a reliable, “prolific” goalscorer.
Martin said of whether the manager will get time (49m 55s): “I do think he will. I’m there to be proved wrong but I think slowly but surely he’s getting half-decent players in the right areas.
“He’s still looking for that prolific goalscorer, hasn’t got him yet. I don’t see anybody in that line up that looks as if they’re capable of scoring regularly that 25-30 that you should be scoring as a Rangers player with the chances created. That’s the biggest problem I think he’s going to have to try and address.
“The only thing I think that’s going to come back to bite him on his backside is he said to Celtic, ‘We’ll see you in January at Ibrox, a different story’. If there isn’t a different story I think a lot of people will be very angry.”
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Clement’s comments, especially post-match, are arguably one of the main reasons why the aura of authority around him has slipped since last season, potentially even more than average results on the pitch.
The dismal Old Firm defeat immediately after the transfer window saw him try to calm the upset by pointing to the 6-0 win over Ross County a week earlier.
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That roundly went down like a lead balloon and was the sort of thing which would have got him sacked if he hadn’t just been given an extension before the season according to Gordon Parks on 5 September.
Even his animated protests against the Hibs penalty awarded against John Souttar on 29 September seemed misguided when Jack Butland had saved the kick anyway and his side won 1-0.
Similarly, Clement’s insistence that there was no way back under his management for Ianis Hagi during the summer [Daily Mail, 1 September] despite bafflement at that stance from all angles, only to eventually suggest it was like a new signing [Sky Sports, 2 October] to have the Romanian available once the contract stand off was resolved, was bizarre.
Failure to defeat Celtic in five attempts is by far the bigger material issue and having not looked close to changing that last time the sides met he has heaped pressure on himself for the next derby, and will have to deliver or he’ll be pushing the faith in him from the club to the limit.
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