- Belgian describes 2-0 defeat to Buddies as ‘by far the worst’ display of his reign
- Listless home reverse comes weeks after humiliating Scottish Cup exit
- Hapless Rangers remain 13 points adrift of league leaders and bitter rivals Celtic
Philippe Clement described Rangers’ performance in the 2-0 defeat by St Mirren at Ibrox as ‘by far the worst’ in his time at the club.
Rangers fans went to Ibrox boosted by news this week of a potential multi-million pound takeover of the club by a USA-led consortium but they were stunned by a well-organised Buddies side.
St Mirren deservedly won through second-half goals from striker Mikael Mandron and substitute Toyosi Olusanya, which handed the Paisley side their first win in Govan since November, 1991.
Clement is under pressure again as Rangers remain 13 points behind William Hill Premiership leaders Celtic and heading for a trophyless season domestically, although they have a Europa League last-16 tie against Fenerbahce to come in March.
It was a second successive home defeat for the Belgian boss following the humiliating Scottish Gas Scottish Cup loss to Championship side Queen’s Park and Clement, who joined the Light Blues in October 2023, watched many disgruntled supporters depart before the final whistle.
He said: ‘I understand. We were by far the worst I’ve seen in all the time I’ve been here.
Philippe Clement can’t hide his frustration as Rangers lose 2-0 at home to St Mirren
Ibrox goalkeeper Jack Butland is just as dejected as his manager after the latest woeful result
But Alex Gogic leads the celebrations for St Mirren who made it two wins in a row over Rangers
‘I understand fans don’t want to see that level. It’s about standing up as a team and showing more quality. It’s about finding out where this nervousness came from.
‘It’s terribly disappointing, because we were so nervous, on the ball, in the duels, in everything.
‘I don’t know where it’s coming from. That’s my frustration and it’s also my responsibility to put a team on the pitch with the right mindset.
‘I didn’t see this one coming, this nervousness, everyone below par, almost all game.
‘There were a few better spells but by far we were not what Rangers should be.’
Clement admits his side lacked leadership against the determined Paisley side. He said: ‘I saw the team drifting apart in islands.
‘That’s not been the case in the past, when we’ve had difficult moments and went behind, but reacted as a team.
‘Today it was reacting one on one and not as a team. Then we don’t play the football we need to play and it’s a bad performance.
‘Leadership is an important one, but leadership is also a collective one. In the first place, it’s my responsibility.’
Mikael Mandron wheels away in delight after breaking the deadlock early in the second half
Stephen Robinson celebrated his third anniversary in charge of the Buddies with a landmark victory for the club and the second win over Rangers this season after a 2-1 victory against them in Paisley on Boxing Day.
The Northern Irishman said: ‘We have raised expectations at this football club and it’s not because we have massive resources or an injection of cash. It is because of the squad of players. They deserve all the credit for the performance.
‘The big thing is we did not feel under pressure. We come to these places and a lot of times you don’t have ownership of the game.
‘We felt we were in control of the game and when we landed on the ball we were brave and created lots of half chances and perhaps could have had a couple more.
‘We press aggressively every week. The players are the ones who have to do that. You can have all the tactical ideas, but they ran over Rangers at times.
‘Their pressing and quality was a joy to watch at times.
‘You see a group who don’t get paid millions of pounds but just try and win every game that they play.
‘You can’t do that at St Mirren, you have bad times, but I give them all the credit I can.’
