By the end of the game which proved to be Philippe Clement’s penultimate day at the office as Rangers manager, even the baying mob thought it best to get on their toes to beat the traffic.
A fortnight earlier, in the moments which followed the humiliation at the hands of Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup, there was anger and frustration aplenty as the embattled Belgian and his players made their way back to their cars.
Save the jeers of the few hundred who’d stayed to the bitter end against St Mirren on Saturday, the backdrop to the final whistle this time was thousands of empty seats. Those who had occupied them two hours previously were long gone.
When apathy becomes the order of the day, directors always feel compelled to act swiftly. Nothing engages their brains quite like the prospect of a crash in income.
Nobody’s fool, Clement knew what was coming. There was none of his normally bullish demeanour that we’d previously seen after a defeat. He spoke of fighting to the end, a clear indication that he appreciated that the battle for hearts and minds among the light blue legions had long been lost.
He could have absolutely no complaints. Six weeks on from Patrick Stewart breaking cover to mark reporters’ cards on how he saw the lie of the land at Ibrox, results under Clement had failed to improve.
Philippe Clement knew what was coming after his team’s 2-0 defeat by St Mirren on Saturday
Clement cut a lonely figure as thousands of fans left Ibrox long before the full-time whistle
That the chief executive managed to prevent his finger from pulling the trigger after the Queen’s Park debacle spoke to his deep reserves of patience.
Hoping against hope that the Belgian could turn things around, Stewart held up the side’s commendable progression to the last 16 of the Europa League as one reason why Clement deserved more time.
With the American consortium set to move in towards the end of the season, the desire to kick the issue into the long grass among the current Ibrox hierarchy was strong.
Yet, Saturday’s poor excuse for a display by Clement’s side gave them absolutely no choice.
For reasons only they could explain, the players meandered about the field in a collective daze on a day when they should have been showing long-suffering fans how much they’d been hurting since the cup loss at the same venue.
As is the way in football, the manager carried the can. There comes a time when all the talk of progress, rebuilds and the need for patience just isn’t cutting it anymore.
But those who eased him towards the exit door should not escape blame either.
Make no mistake, the collective performance in what proved to be Clement’s final match in charge was nothing short of abysmal. It’s not often that you can legitimately question the application of professional footballers yet the many in the stands who did so here were fully entitled to do so.
Those who took the field shamed themselves, short-changed those supporters and ensured there was no way back for the manager.
The only thing anyone at Rangers got right all day was Clement, and that was when he stated afterwards that the display was the worst he’d seen since coming to the club.
He was right in that sense. Against the Spiders, Rangers at least fashioned a sufficient number of chances to win the tie. That just wasn’t the case at the weekend.
The most animated Saints keeper Zach Hemming was all afternoon was when he launched himself into the jubilant visiting supporters at time up as the Paisley side won in Govan for the first time since 1991-92. A few routine stops aside, he had a trouble-free afternoon.
It was nothing short of a horror show for Clinton Nsiala. The young Frenchman had earned some plaudits in recent weeks, but his eighth appearance in a Rangers jersey put him back to square one.
Guilty of losing his footing as Mikael Mandron fired the Buddies in front in the second half, Nsiala was easily nudged out of the way as Toyosi Olusanya then struck to ensure the Buddies won back-to-back games against Rangers for the first time since season 1979-80.
At 21 and without much first-team exposure, Nsiala could be cut just a little slack for his poor display.
The same could not be said of Clement’s experienced core. Jack Butland set the tone by almost gifting Jonah Ayunga the opening goal with a slack pass.
In John Souttar’s absence, it was imperative that Robin Propper took on the responsibility of driving into midfield to open up the game. Instead, he opted to play keep ball with his defensive partners.
James Tavernier’s day was another filled with careless passes and overhit crosses. Neither Vaclav Cerny nor Ianis Hagi looked interested. The long balls played up to Cyriel Dessers appeared to be the only tactic being employed.
Hamza Igamane can count himself fortunate he’s not facing a domestic suspension. His challenge on Mark O’Hara on the cusp of half-time saw him red-carded by Kevin Clancy only for the referee to downgrade it to a yellow on second viewing. Many officials would have stood by their original decision.
It was not a team display which suggested the players seemed overly bothered by what happened against a second-tier team two weeks previously, or that the job prospects of their manager were troubling them too greatly.
Let this be said: St Mirren were everything Rangers were not. Committed, calm and enterprising, they eased to a victory which might well have been more emphatic than the final scoreline.
No doubt fearing that Rangers would seek revenge for their victory in Paisley two months back, Stephen Robinson’s players stood up to the challenge and ballasted their place in the top six with a complete away performance. How their band of fans milked the moment. Another European adventure remains a distinct possibility.
Their own continental adventure aside, the end of the season just cannot come quickly enough for everyone at Ibrox.
The domestic fare has been invariably awful and the team are now clearly going through the motions. That’s likely to continue until there are fresh faces in the boardroom and a new permanent manager in the dugout.
To the considerable relief of all concerned, Clement has gone. A multitude of issues and questions remain.
RANGERS (4-2-3-1): Butland 4; Tavernier 4, Propper 5, Nsiala 3, Jefte 4; Raskin 5, Diomande 4 (Bajrami 72); Cerny 4, Igamane 4 (Danilo 58), Hagi 5 (Lawrence 72); Dessers 5.
Booked: Igamane.
Manager: Philippe Clement 2.
ST MIRREN (5-3-2): Hemming 8; Alebiosu 8 (Bwomono 66), Fraser 8, Gogic 8, Taylor 7.5, John 7.5 (Tanser 95); O’Hara 8, Boyd-Munce 7.5 (Smith 66), Phillips 7.5 (Kiltie 76); Mandron 8, Ayunga 8 (Olusanya 66).
Booked: Mandron, Ayunga.
Manager: Stephen Robinson 9.
Referee: Kevin Clancy 6.
Attendance: 49,994.
Leave a Reply