'Seriously declined': Rangers' potential Philippe Clement replacement under fire after 4-0 humiliation
15/02/2025 10:00
Philippe Clement made reference to Pep Guardiola’s new-found struggles at Manchester City when quizzed about the pressure he finds himself under at Rangers during Friday’s press conference.
After only one trophy and a single Old Firm victory during a year-and-a-half in the Ibrox dugout, the Rangers boss knows he lacks the sort of credit Guardiola enjoys at the reigning – albeit soon to be former – Premier League champions.
Guardiola, scratches carved into his cranium, has lost 12 of his last 24 matches in all competitions. By far and away a career-low for a man who previously appeared impervious to such troubles. Yet, that no one is talking about Man City sacking a man who delivered a long-awaited Champions League trophy at the Etihad Stadium is testament not only to his past success but also the esteem in which he is still held.
Philippe Clement, it’s fair to say, cannot rely upon the same luxuries north of Hadrian’s Wall.
Rangers’ Scottish Cup debacle against Queen’s Park led to increased calls for his head amongst large sections of a frustrated fanbase.
And with many of the club’s other post-Mick Beale targets now out of contention – Pascal Jansen moved to America, Frank Lampard is at Coventry while John Eustace is leaving Blackburn for Derby County – the familiar face of Kevin Muscat has returned to the gossip columns in recent weeks.
Kevin Muscat under fire as Philippe Clement hangs onto Rangers job
A former Rangers defender, Muscat, as they say, ‘knows the club’.
He knows management too, accumulating eight trophies as a head coach and winning domestic titles in Australia [Melbourne Victory], Yokohama F Marinos [Japan] and now China [Shanghai Port].
And, in a week in which Clement drew comparisons between his situation at Ibrox and that of Guardiola at Man City, Muscat was also mentioned in conjunction with a certain Catalan tactician this week. Albeit in less-than-complementary circumstances.
Shanghai Port lost 3-2 to rivals Shanghai Shenhua in the CFA Super Lig last week, and followed that up with a 4-0 thumping away to Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe in the Asian Champions League.
A result which earned Muscat considerable criticism. Guardiola has come under fire during Man City’s most calamitous spell of the Abu Dhabi era, with one of the pervading criticism being his apparent reluctance to adapt to the strengths of the opposition, or indeed the weaknesses in his own ranks.
Similar accusations have now been levelled at Muscat; Vissel Kobe cutting through his depleted outfit like a knife though hot Lurpak.
“The two consecutive games in the Super Cup and the Asian Champions League are enough to prove that, when the core foreign players Oscar and [Matiaas] Vargas left the team and the ace striker Wu Lei was absent, Muscat did not adjust his technical and tactical play at all,” explains Chinese publication Dong Qiudi.
“[Musta] insisted on his tactical concept of high-pressure and even an aggressive attack. However, due to the lack of core players, the overall strength of the team has seriously declined, and the control of the [game] has dropped drastically.
“They are simply unable to support such a high-level technical and tactical play.”
Muscat admits ‘mistakes’ led to Shanghai Port hammering
Club legend Oscar returned to Brazil with Sao Paulo while Vargas was lured away by the riches of the Middle East. Muscat can point to those departures as an explanation for a dreadful start to the new campaign, but the very best managers adapt to such setbacks and set about finding solutions within the existing roster.
The challenge for Muscat now will be to prove he can do just that.
“Several decisive factors had an impact on the course of the game,” Muscat sighed after that four-goal trouncing in Japan. “The opponent is a very strong team. Today, they made four replacements to their starting line-up, which gave them plenty of energy. The opponent was very physically fit.
“In a competition of the level of the AFC Champions League, we faced a strong opponent. Today, we made mistakes in several key areas, which led to goals from the opponent. Vissel Kobe was the better team.”
There does not appear to be any question about Muscat’s job security at this stage. And nor should they be after the title-winning success of 2024.
But with the Rangers bosses considering all their options as doubts emerge again over Clement’s suitability, how Muscat responds to successive defeats, and the loss of two star players, is likely to be something those in the Ibrox boardroom take a keen interest in.
