Philippe Clement makes Rangers statement as Steven Gerrard agreement emerges
Steven Gerrard is being linked with a sensational return to Rangers are pressure continues to grow on Philippe Clement after his side suffered a freak defeat in the Scottish Cup.Under pressure Rangers boss Philippe Clement has spoke out amid whispers of Steven Gerrard potentially replacing him at Ibrox.
The Gers were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by second tier minnows Queen’s Park at the weekend, leaving the Europa League as their only realistic hope of landing silverware this season given the 13-point gap between them and Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic.Under Clement’s watch, Rangers have struggled to keep pace with their Glasgow neighbours, casting doubt over the Belgian manager’s future at the club. Speaking after Sunday’s shock upset, Clement said he wouldn’t be stepping down, and suggested it would be a foolishly knee-jerk reaction to sack him.”I don’t expect this [being sacked] because you can put another manager in this game – would it be different in that sense? Yesterday, progression was made, top eight in Europe and more consistency in the league and all these things, they don’t change in 90 minutes,” he said.”If you do that and make decisions in that way, then you make only decisions out of emotions and not out of what’s been going on. So I don’t expect this now.”
It comes amid talk of Gerrard possibly returning to Rangers. The Liverpool legend, who led the club to their first league title in a decade four years ago, is out of work after leaving Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq by mutual consent last month.Sponsored Link by Taboola
Ally McCoist, who scored 355 goals for the Gers, claimed earlier this week that a return to Glasgow could be just what the doctor ordered for Gerrard following a couple of disappointing managerial spells. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Steven Gerrard came back to Ibrox,” McCoist told talkSPORT BET.
“He’s obviously held in really high regard by the supporters because of the league title he won, and his next job is going to be vitally important for him. Things haven’t gone according to plan for him after he left Rangers. A little bit like Frank Lampard going to Coventry – his next appointment was really important to him as well, so we’ll see what Steven ends up choosing to do with his career.”Echoing McCoist’s sentiments, ex-Celtic boss Neil Lennon also reckoned a Gerrard-Rangers reunion could be on the cards. “Steven Gerrard back to Rangers? You never know in football,” the Irishman told Casino Uden Rofus. “You never know where the next project or next adventure will take you. You can never rule anything like that out.
“At the minute, Philippe Clement is steadying the ship with Rangers. He’ll want to make progression and inroads into the rest of the season and obviously build for next year. But in the future, who knows.”
Rangers built a decent bit of momentum over the past few months, suffering just two defeats in all competitions since October, but Sunday’s loss has changed the tone completely. Boos rang out around Ibrox at full time, moments after James Tavernier missed a 97th minute penalty to level the game. It was the first time in history that Rangers had been knocked out of the Scottish Cup at home by a side from a lower division.
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