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Philippe Clement looks like Rangers drowning man and one decision that made no sense is proof he's clinging on

-Credit: (Image: SNS Group)
-Credit: (Image: SNS Group)


Philippe Clement is suffering from 'drowning man syndrome' at Rangers - and his midfield made no sense against Hearts.

That's the view of Keith Jackson who had his say on the state of play at Ibrox on Sunday night's Hotline LIVE. Clement's team eked out a 1-0 win over struggling Hearts and it wrapped up a successful week as far as results are concerned. Performance-wise, however, alarm bells are ringing, and Clement was the subject of furious boos after his decision to sub Connor Barron in the second half at Ibrox.

Rangers' sluggish second half sparked frustration among punters who wanted more from their team, and the decision to hook Barron was the stick that broke the camel's back. But our man Keith reckons the whole balance of the midfield was off to begin with. Clement started with the same midfield three that impressed against Olympiacos, Barron joining Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande in the engine room.

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But was it the right call to stick with it for a league game agains a Hearts team low on confidence and battling relegation? Keith said on Record Sport's Hotline LIVE: "Sometimes a manager gets drowning man syndrome. He starts clinging to things. Something works, maybe more by accident than design, and they cling onto it, they say 'we'll use that again.'

"What he did right against Olympiacos was he got the balance of the midfield correct, and it worked for that game. But when you've got Hearts coming to Ibrox and they're going to try and frustrate you and limit your chances, you're minus a creative player at that point.

"This is where it doesn't make sense. They really struggled for invention, spark and creativity in the final third. They're operating with three central midfielders."

Keith and Daniel Caw were joined by Craig Swan on the show as he reported live from Ibrox. And he said: "There's a willingness and enthusiasm about the three lads in midfield, Barron, Diomande and Raskin. But they're lacking a little bit of creation and invention. It's something we've spoken about on Hotline Live before, is there a situation where he pulls Bajrami into the No.10? Let's see what he can do in there with a bit of ingenuity and spark. The lads in there were willing enough with the effort and energy, but there was just a lack of quality."

Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football.