The Kevin Muscat contract 'myth' answered as Rangers fans told exactly why Philippe Clement is still in a job
Shanghai Port boss Kevin Muscat has long been touted with the Rangers job - and speculation is hitting fever pitch once again amid mounting pressure on Philippe Clement.
But doubts over the Australian's contract status at the Chinese Super League side appear to have been answered amid fresh fan calls for the former Ibrox midfielder to make his return to the club as boss. Muscat was interviewed for the Rangers hot seat after Michael Beale was axed following two successful seasons with Yokohama F. Marinos - but the decision-makers at Ibrox opted to go with the Belgian.
Since then, Muscat has gone on to lift a league and cup double in China while Clement is facing massive pressure in Govan. The boss takes his Light Blues into the Ibrox cauldron to face Celtic to kick off 2025 having lost to St Mirren and drawn with Motherwell in their last two games.
They trail Brendan Rodgers' men by 14 points going into derby day - and attention of some punters has already turned to replacing Clement. The rumour mill has shifted up a gear throwing out a claim that Muscat will be out of contract in Shanghai on New Year's Day.
While Muscat is said to have initially penned a one-year-deal at the club, several outlets in China report that the club held an option to extend the deal by a further year. Titan Sports state that Muscat earns around £1.6m-per-year at the club.
And while their domestic campaign is completed, Muscat still has fixtures in the Asian Champions League to focus on with a double header against Vissel Kobe and Yokohama F. Marinos set to round off the league phase in February.
Speaking last month in the wake of the Chinese FA Cup victory, Muscat set his focus on success on the continent. He said: "In the AFC Champions League, our performance has indeed been inconsistent, which has led to unstable results.
"There are still matches left in this phase of the AFC Champions League this season. We hope the team can deliver consistent performances, starting with tomorrow's match."
It appears that Muscat is in no rush to leave his current club and that the extension to his bumper contract has been triggered - and that could be good news for under-fire Clement. And Ross McCormack reckons that there are only two reasons that the Ibrox board have not pulled the trigger on the gaffer in the wake of the dismal draw with Motherwell.
He told the BBC's Scottish Football podcast: "He is under severe pressure. I think he is probably lucky about two things - it's the Old Firm game next.
"If it wasn't the Old Firm game next I think they could have made a change after this game (Motherwell), but I don't think you can do that before an Old Firm game. Too much havoc would be caused.
"And also, I know Rangers fans won't agree with it but the difference from coming back to 2-2 from 2-0 down, you can get a lot more positives out of that than you can if you got beat."
