Kris Boyd has put into print the fears of thousands of loyal bears- that Phil Clement is on the brink of walking away from Ibrox.
Since his fist pumping lap of honour following a 3-3 home draw against Celtic virtually nothing has gone right on or off the park for the former Monaco boss.
Awarding his side a moral victory was just another of many misjudgements from Clement since the moment that he filled in the team-sheet with James Tavernier and Scott Wright in his Starting XI.
Within 20 seconds his panic stricken skipper has smashed a clearance off Daizen Maeda and watched the ball fly past Jack Butland just as Gareth Southgate settled into his seat.
Following the moral victory Clement’s side took one point from trips to Ross County and Dundee with A Proper Football Manager developing a strange obsession with the drainage at Dens Park.
Two defeats from Celtic in May took the hoops onto 118 trophies and exposed the limitations of Clement and his squad of serial losers.
Since the season ended with more runners-up medals at Hampden things have gone from bad to even worse, prompting Boyd to write in The Sun:
PHILIPPE CLEMENT looks to me like a man on the brink.
Like someone who could easily walk away from Rangers anytime soon.
I hate saying that. And I hope I’m wrong.
But that’s what I took from his comments about the job he’s being asked to do right now.
The lack of funds to rebuild the squad with money only available if he sells someone first.
This wasn’t what he signed up for, was it?
What was it that he said last week?
“I had other expectations when I came in in October, I have to say.”
Clement strikes me as a shrewd guy, he’s certainly not someone who suffers fools gladly.
With that in mind, I genuinely fear he’s close to deciding the situation leaves him with only one option.
Philippe Clement looks like a man on the brink at Rangers – I fear quitting club could be his only option says Kris Boyd ✍️ https://t.co/m1KVvKdsLJ
— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) July 19, 2024
Boyd is a very close friend of Alex Rae, he will know the sentiments of Clement and won’t unduly rock the boat.
With Ibrox closed for the foreseeable future the last thing that Executive Chairman John Bennett wanted to hear was the dramatic comments from Clement in Holland last weekend.
After confirming that the transfer war-chest is empty Clement revealed that the situation is different to the one that he discussed during negotiations to take over from Micky Beale in October.
That was followed by putting every player up for sale with a £30-40m tag on Jack Butland after his Ajax howlers with more to come from the straight talking Belgium.
More players and more quality are needed to reach the Champions League group phase with the qualifiers less than three weeks away while the funds aren’t there to sign Abdallah Sima who he looks on as his son.
The problems are piling up at Ibrox, with Bennett in hiding Clement will be in front of the media for today’s match at Murrayfield against Manchester United which won’t earn Clement’s team a penny.
It is very rare for a manager to resign in the current climate of pay offs and gardening leave but it would be a shock if Clement’s agent wasn’t pushing his name at clubs before his client’s reputation is trashed with the rest of the Ibrox underachievers.
Unlike his match and trophy predictions, on May 14 Boyd was still predicting a domestic treble for his favourite club, it looks like the former Kilmarnock ace could finally be calling one out correctly.
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🗣️”I had other expectations in October but I know the reality now and I’m very motivated to build the club and help in that. It’s focusing on the short term and the long term.”
📹 Philippe Clement’s comments on transfers, funds available and the board and their relationship in… pic.twitter.com/o9ONruKqZg
— The Rangers Review (@RangersReview55) July 14, 2024
