After remaining out of the spotlight since the defeat to Queen’s Park, the Belgian finally emerged on Friday afternoon to speak with the media. Based on his first press conference following that humiliating Scottish Cup loss, Philippe Clement seems either to be a skilled actor or, alternatively, a poor judge of character. In fact, one remark he made during the briefing effectively labeled him as the latter.
Clement audaciously claimed that last Sunday’s result did not truly reflect the match against Queen’s Park—the first lower-league side to ever win a Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox. This comment not only demonstrated a failure to read the room but also an inability to grasp the situation entirely. In reality, the game was a mirror of the manager’s own state: as the match wore on, he appeared increasingly confused and made questionable decisions when things began to fall apart. His suggestion that a miscarriage of justice had occurred only served to further alienate an already furious fan base.
During the press conference, Clement admitted he reached a point where he wished he could simply step onto the pitch and score a goal. Fans, however, will likely wish that he hadn’t substituted Ianis Hagi—who might have done that very job and prevented a pivotal moment in Rangers’ history. By his own words, Clement has piled more pressure on himself at Hearts today as he navigates what he described as some of the toughest days of his coaching career. The sight of him having to be escorted out of Ibrox last Sunday was both distressing and a poor reflection on misguided supporters, yet it accurately reflected the level of fan anger. Clearly, Clement doesn’t seem to fully understand just how vehement the opposition against him really is.
Friday’s media briefing was a missed opportunity for him to express remorse over the extraordinary events that unfolded during the cup tie. When the club imposed a media blackout immediately after the cup elimination, it created a vacuum that made everyone desperate to hear his next public statement. In fact, if Rangers had broadcast his press conference on pay-per-view, the revenue might have been enough to cover the cost of ending his lengthy contract.
The details of the Queen’s Park game become even more damning upon closer inspection. It’s easy to overlook that, in the round before facing Rangers at Ibrox, the Spiders were forced into extra-time at home by Montrose—a League One team struggling to avoid relegation playoffs. Callum Davidson’s side needed a 91st-minute equalizer to take the game that far, which only highlights why it’s no surprise that Rangers’ social media remained eerily silent.
Some believe that saying nothing is best when the situation is already volatile, yet it was Rangers’ chief executive who, at his inaugural press conference, stated that no club can be successful “without an engaged supporter base.” Since then, incidents have piled up: a 55th-minute walk-out by supporters during the league game against St Johnstone at Ibrox, protests outside the stadium after the cup tie, and even the unsettling sight of Clement needing steward protection as he left the ground—all clear indicators of the intense discontent among the fans.
One Rangers supporter summed up the mood on the radio the day after the cup loss by asking, “What is the tipping point?” With their upcoming match against Hearts, it seems Rangers are becoming mere onlookers in their own domestic campaign, with all the trophies slipping away. Under these circumstances, one might have assumed that Clement had reached the point of no return, yet he has often managed to claw his way back, even if it seems he’s doing so blindfolded.
Stewart, the club’s chief executive, has maintained that keeping the Belgian at Ibrox was not simply a tactic to avoid a tough decision, and he also mentioned that changing the manager wouldn’t be a “silver bullet solution.” However, all of those remarks were made before the Queen’s Park match—and now they have come back to haunt him. So far, Stewart’s time at Rangers has encompassed eight matches, two of which have ended in defeat: one against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Europa League—which can be understood—and another against Queen’s Park at Ibrox, an outcome that is utterly incomprehensible and all too typical of the chaos that sometimes unfolds at Ibrox.
