Philippe Clement has admitted that the past week has been the low point of his managerial career.
A three-times title winner in Belgium with Genk and Club Brugge, the 50-year-old’s Rangers tenure started brightly by lifting the League Cup 14 months ago.
But a failure to build on that success this season had already increased the pressure on the former Monaco manager even before last Sunday’s calamity at home to Championship side Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup.
Twelve years after first taking charge of Brugge in an interim capacity, Clement has acknowledged that this has been the toughest period of his career in the dugout to date.
‘Yes, yeah it is. And for sure because of this game, this last game,’ he said. ‘It’s the most freaky one also, to lose that game. And because of that with all the reactions, yes, that’s the toughest moment until now. But I’m not running away from it.
‘I think it’s the same (pressure) in Brugge where you need to win every game. But I didn’t have freaky results like we had now. And I understand all the anger around that result.’
Clement is defiant in that he will not resign after the Scottish Cup exit saw pressure on him mount
Ferrie’s save from James Tavernier’s late spot-kick ensured the Spiders of a famous victory
On Friday, Clement claimed he felt no additional pressure on his position as a consequence of the shock result.
Believing that the Scottish Cup exit came after his side provided evidence that they were improving under his guidance, he feels it should only be viewed as a major bump in the road.
‘If you see the last period from January till now, the results have been made in that sense,’ he added.
‘And it’s true that November, December we had these away games where we didn’t perform well. But we made this evolution.
‘At Ibrox we had really good results until now, all season, and now we lose again in the cup. There are no guarantees around that. It’s about performing every time.’
While Clement’s future has come under intense scrutiny since last Sunday’s one-goal loss, those who played in one of the worst episodes in Rangers’ history have also been in the firing line.
Like himself, though, he believes the now infamous result need not define their time at the club.
‘I think a lot of players have a really big future, yes,’ he said. ‘It’s all of us together. It’s not something that was going on for weeks and because of that you have the result in this cup game.
Cyriel Dessers failed to find the net in the defeat to Queen’s Park which piled pressure on Clement
Clement claims he doesn’t feel any extra pressure to deliver success at Ibrox
‘No, the team was doing well the last weeks and they were getting good results. So, it’s about getting now the mindset again to go where they were one week ago and to show that on the pitch.
‘Because you can have so many words, you can say so many things. At the end it’s about what you’ve been showing on the pitch and that’s what we need to do.’
Ahead of today’s trip to Tynecastle, Clement says he has no fears about how the Queen’s Park debacle might impact Bailey Rice.
The midfielder made his first start only to be substituted at half-time with the game goalless.
Clement made a point of sitting down this week with the teenager to reassure him that what happened shouldn’t prevent him from having a bright future at Rangers.
‘Of course I spoke with Bailey Rice, like we speak with the other players in the other weeks,’ he said.
‘I know there is concern from people about Bailey being taken off at half-time and the effect it will be on him.
‘I can say that there’s no reason to have any doubts about that.
‘Bailey was the first one who was not happy with his first half. It’s normal, he’s 18, he’s the first time at Ibrox, he’s a lifelong fan. There is a certain tension around that.
‘It’s a player I believe really hard in. I don’t give easy chances to 18-year-olds in a big European game or to start games like that.
‘Bailey played an okay game, but the quality that he has and the specific quality that will make him a top player for the future, he didn’t use in this game. That’s his really good passing and his passing forward to breaking lines.
‘After the game, you can say you should have played with Bailey more. But then I would have had the question why I don’t put the experienced Nicolas Raskin in at the half-time.
‘But Bailey is motivated and hungry. He feels my confidence, he feels the confidence of the staff.’
Clement disagrees with the theory that Rangers are better off playing away from home this weekend due to the negativity that’s engulfed Ibrox.
‘No, I don’t agree with that because I know the fans,’ he said.
‘If the team plays really well and they show quality, they’re always behind them. At home, there’s more people and more fans. If the team starts games on the front foot and they show quality, the fans are always behind them.’
