Philippe Clement: Win over Hearts a mere 'stay of execution' for Rangers' boss?
2025-02-17
Category: sports

Philippe Clement put the 3-1 win over Hearts, which eased some of the pressure on the Rangers manager, down to having "the right mentality".But the Belgian probably has as much to thank goalkeeper Jack Butland, a fair share of luck and the shins of home centre-half Jamie McCart for Rangers leaving Tynecastle with all three points.And the display did little to change the minds of pundits who were surprised to see Clement still in the dugout after the shock Scottish Cup defeat by Queen's Park - and who regard it as a mere "stay of execution" for the 50-year-old.Hearts not only scored two of Rangers' three goals - deflections off the unfortunate McCart - but created the majority of the game's chances as home head coach Neil Critchley was left "scratching my head" at the scoreline.So what does it mean for Clement and Rangers?
'Rangers showed right mentality'
In the end, Rangers returned to being 13 points behind Scottish Premiership leaders and reigning champions Celtic, who continued their winning streak by easing aside Dundee United on Saturday.Clement insisted "everybody saw the reaction" of his players at Tynecastle to a cup exit that had left everyone at Ibrox "devastated"."The team showed the right mentality as a group," he said, adding they showed the "fight" necessary for any team to win at Tynecastle."Also against a Hearts team that went full-in for the victory with an offensive playing style, a lot of attacking players with good quality, and the team dug in and took also the right moments."Clement pointed out John Souttar and Cyriel Dessers both had goals ruled out for offside but admitted the team's performance was not "top quality like in our best games".Shortly before a flurry at the end of the first half, Rangers' expected goals statistic was stuck at zero despite leading through McCart's first own goal. And even by the final whistle, their 1.61 was well short of Hearts' 2.91.No wonder Critchley could claim 3-1 was not "a fair reflection of the game at all"."It's not often you play Rangers and you have more of the ball, more passes, better chances, more shots - and we've done all of that today, yet we've lost," the Englishman said.Striker Elton Kabangu was left disappointed not to add to his five goals in four games since joining on loan from Union St-Gilloise, which Critchley put down to some fine saves from the "magnificent" Butland.
'Surprised he was still in the dugout'
Hearts strike legend John Robertson rued his former side's missed chances."Kabangu had six or seven opportunities," he said on BBC Sportsound. "Hearts missed three or four sitters. Butland has had four or five good saves - some magnificent."Former Hearts and Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson could not "quite believe" what he was watching."The amount of absolute sitters Hearts have missed," he said. "I've watched numerous Hearts v Rangers games and I can't remember Hearts making so many chances against Rangers. "Rangers are a shambles from corner kicks and set-pieces against them. On another day, they could have conceded quite a few goals. They've got away with one this afternoon."Rangers have now won five league games in a row, their longest run since winning nine last January-February.However, although they also ended Hearts' nine-game unbeaten run, former Ibrox youth striker Rory Loy thought it was only "a big win" and "impressive based on the poor standards they have set"."Five wins in a row should happen numerous times throughout a season if you are looking to achieve your goals and, historically, Rangers have been able to do that," he said.Loy thinks Clement might still need to win the Europa League to save his job come the end of the season given they had never lost to a second-tier side at home in the cup and are highly unlikely to catch Celtic in the league."I can't help but feel it is a stay of execution for Clement," he said. "Winning the Europa League might change things, but domestically there's nothing to grasp on to."I was very surprised he was in the dugout today based on last week. I just think it is kicking the can down the road a little bit."Clement had left last week's meeting with chief executive Patrick Stewart still believing he had the backing of the board, but Loy thinks sticking with the Belgian until the end of the season "breeds negativity" among the players and fans.