Patrick Stewart's first Rangers declaration tested to the limit as Man Utd lesson signals next Clement move
Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart has already thrown his weight behind Philippe Clement - but his support now looks set to go to the ultimate test in the face of defeat to Queen's Park.
The prospect of a trophyless campaign is setting in at Ibrox after the Spiders send the Light Blues crashing out of the Scottish Cup on their own patch. Having already lost out on the Premier Sports Cup with a defeat on penalties to Celtic while trailing Brendan Rodgers' side by 13 points in the Premiership Rangers fans now have to hope their side can bring the Europa League trophy to Glasgow to stand any chance of claiming silverware this term.
Stewart started his work the day after a heartbreaking cup final defeat to Celtic on penalties in November and saw the Light Blues thump their rivals 3-0 at Ibrox in the New Year derby. And speaking at his first press conference last month alongside chairman Fraser Thornton, he distanced himself from a change in management.
The former Manchester United chief insisted he didn't want to consistently show the door to managers - just like had been done at Old Trafford. However, he would offer the Belgian no "cast-iron guarantees" and the chief now faces the biggest call he has had since stepping into the hot seat.
Speaking last month, he said: “There's been a lot of talk about results, and there's been a lot of talk about the manager, and I know that the spotlight is on Fraser and myself, but particularly on me. But that's the job, I'm okay with that.
“I need to make some tough decisions, it comes with the role, but I am committed to making the right ones for Rangers, not just the popular ones. So cutting to the chase, we are backing Philippe at this time as a board. It's about taking a deeper look at the issues, addressing those problems, and staying focused on building a stronger future for the club. Changing a manager isn't a silver bullet solution.
“You know where I've worked previously (Manchester United), and that isn't something that has been effective there, it's not effective at a lot of football clubs where there's constant change of manager. What I do need to do, and what the board are supporting me with, is uncovering the underlying issues and addressing those.
“And there's been quite a lot of supporters' comments, and one that particularly jumped out at me was, you know, some supporters' comments are, we want to change a manager. I think others are, look, this isn't just about the manager, it's more about what's going on at the football club.
“Because there's been several years where we've been underperforming, and there's something deeper rooted here, and I agree with that. So I think that's what we need to do, we need to look beneath the surface. Managers and coaching staff will continue to come and go in the future, that's understood. Again, that is football.
“But what I'm looking to do, again, this is a team effort, is build a solid foundation and a real long-term football plan for the club. If we rush and react every time there's some poor results, we're in danger of just being back in the same place in a year's time or 18 months' time or however long.
“But I want to be clear, look, I'm not saying everything is fine, and I think the fans are frustrated, I get that. I've been a football fan my entire life, I've been in that position, we're also all frustrated. And particularly if I look at the away results, you know, the record is there, it's been discussed, it's not good, and it's not what's expected for Rangers.
“So we are working with Philippe to address consistency issues, and I'm also not going to speculate on what happens if results don't improve. I spent time with Philippe, I spent a lot of time with Philippe, a lot of time at Auchenhowie, I was with Philippe last night, and we discussed the need, the imperative for results to improve.
“If results don't improve, obviously I can't give Philippe any cast iron guarantees. He and I have both been around football long enough to know that isn't the case. Equally, I'm not going to get into how many games does Philippe have to save his job, that's not what we're about. We're about helping Philippe to identify why is there the inconsistency and let's address that. And again, to be clear, sticking with Philippe isn't about trying to avoid a tough decision.
"In fact, I think if anything, changing a manager would be the easy decision, because a lot of supporters are calling for that. I'm aware of that, I've seen the statements. But I think that would be easy and I'm looking at this from a long-term perspective and thinking what's in the best interests of the club. So, I'm putting the club first, not my own interests and whether this decision is going to be viewed as positive or negative. I'm really thinking about the club first. So, it is very much about making the right decisions for the long-term success of the club. And again, Philippe understands that.
"I do want to say about Philippe, he's really committed. I've worked with several managers and Philippe is as hard working and committed as any I've seen. First in the training ground, last out, he's always on, always available, always thinking about it. So he is absolutely committed to bringing success to the club, and we're committed to providing him with that support.
"But just to reiterate, it's a results-orientated business, so we know that results have to improve. But talking about the longer-term success of the club, I met with all of the football departments at Auchenhowie last Tuesday, and it was to introduce myself to them, as we'd done an all-staff at Ibrox that some couldn't attend, so I wanted to make sure that we'd done an all-staff at Auchenhowie when we could speak to everyone. But it was also to inform them that we're doing a root and branch review of the entire football department.
"Everything is in scope and it starts on Monday, Monday as in two days' time. ‘Because I think if we're honest with ourselves as a club, and on being honest to the supporters, if we look at everything in its entirety, the football club has not been where it wants to be for several years now. So, we're going to review everything that we're doing at Auchenhowie and we're going to look at it from a number of different angles.
"So, we want to ensure that we've got structures in place to succeed. Every decision that we make needs to be focused on one goal, which is bringing success to Rangers and making our supporters proud. We really want to make them proud of the club.
"We also want to ensure that we've got a plan that works, one that's joined up from the training ground to the boardroom, and that we have processes geared towards building winning teams across the board, men's and women's academy. We want to invest in people, we want to make sure we've got the best people for the club and help them develop and reach their potential so that everyone's pulling together and growing the club.
"Ultimately, long-term sustained success is built on culture. We've got to make sure that we've got a culture that's framed towards winning and so we need to build an environment where success becomes a habit, not just a hope.
"So that's really what I've got to say on the manager situation, but more importantly they're getting into the roots of the issues and what we're doing about it and I'm happy at this stage to pause and take questions."
