Rangers have announced the departure of their manager, Philippe Clement, following Saturday’s home defeat by St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
Clement had been under growing pressure at Ibrox, with Rangers falling 13 points behind Celtic in the title race and crashing out of the Scottish Cup with a 1-0 loss at home to second-tier Queen’s Park.
Victory at Hearts last Sunday offered Clement a reprieve, but Saturday’s 2-0 reverse proved to be the final straw. The Belgian departs after 16 months in charge, with last season’s Scottish League Cup the only trophy of his tenure.
A statement from the club, posted on social media at 9.2opm on Sunday, read: “Rangers Football Club can confirm it has tonight parted company with men’s first-team manager, Philippe Clement. The club would like to put on record their sincere thanks to Philippe for his hard work and dedication during his spell in charge. A further update from the club will follow in due course.”
Whoever replaces Clement as Rangers manager will be tasked with narrowing the gap to Celtic and trying to secure progress in Europe. Rangers will face José Mourinho’s Fenerbahce over two legs in the Europa League last 16.
