Before sitting down to write this, I hesitated, holding on to a faint hope that Rangers might somehow pull off an extraordinary comeback against St Mirren at Ibrox.
There was never any real indication from this Rangers side that such a turnaround was possible, yet as a fan, clinging to hope—however irrational—is part of the experience.
A painful, exhausting experience.
With the team trailing 2-0, something inside me still insisted that Rangers could find a way back, as if to shield me from the grim reality of the club’s current struggles.
But how wrong I was—just like the handful of fans who stayed until full-time, only to voice their frustration as the team left the pitch to boos.
Philippe Clement and Rangers disappoint for the final time
With Celtic dropping points against Hibs, Rangers had a golden opportunity to close the gap to 10 points—effectively four, given that two Old Firm clashes remained.
A title challenge was always unlikely, but as I’ve said before, hope often defies logic when it comes to supporting a football club.
Yet once again, the idea that this Rangers side—one of the worst I have seen at a domestic level—could rise to the occasion proved not just misguided but outright delusional.
St Mirren were deserved winners at Ibrox, looking sharper, better organised, and more committed as they claimed their first victory at the stadium since 1991.
As this uninspired Rangers team—lacking the necessary bravery, experience, and quality to succeed at Ibrox—squanders its final opportunity to regain some domestic credibility, any illusions have now been shattered.
I had clung to that illusion all season when it came to Philippe Clement, convinced that he would eventually turn things around.
Call it naive, call it foolish, but until now, I had consciously and publicly defended Clement, believing that the challenges he faced at Rangers justified patience.
