I asked the question here a couple of weeks ago.
What if Rangers beat Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup Final in two weeks’ time? Now, in the wake of Thursday night’s remarkable result against Nice, I upgrade my inquiry. What if Philippe Clement wins the Europa League too?
Rangers’ new CEO Patrick Stewart is, so the popular rumour goes, starting work on December 16 so he can make the sacking of Clement his first task in the wake of a cup final defeat at the hands of their greatest rivals.
He might instead be required to organise a service of repentance at Ibrox and invite those who have crucified, vilified and loudly decried the Belgian to publicly acknowledge, and apologise for, the error of their ways.
Ally McCoist’s spectacular soundbite about Rangers fans not doing “walking away” was accurate when he said it over a decade ago.
But the present-day reality is fans have been evacuating Ibrox as if a siren had gone off and blamed Clement for driving them away.
An accurate reading of where public opinion stands now relative to the manager’s standing will be able to be taken when Rangers hold their AGM on Thursday. A gathering that the new CEO will not attend despite Clement admitting they have already had extensive talks.
This sounds to me like someone who has started work but has decided to body swerve a gathering where people will be in the firing line for matters which have nothing to do with him, thanks very much.
Being an unrepentant cynic, I have this imaginary conversation running through my mind where Stewart says to John Gilligan, the interim chairman at Ibrox: “When is your AGM?” Gilligan replies: “The fifth of December, Patrick.” The conversation ends with Stewart saying, “Right, I’ll see you on the 16th of the month.”
An occasion that was always going to be explosive had gathered all the ingredients necessary to be incendiary when Rangers drew at home with Dundee United last weekend to fall further behind Celtic in the league table.
To what extent have disillusioned shareholders been placated, if at all, by the result in France? Or is it the case that the Europa League is an irrelevance while Celtic threaten to equal Rangers’ total of 55 domestic title wins?
The blame for the existence of that possibility has been laid at the feet of Clement and the Ibrox board. The same directors that former chairman Dave King said would “live on in infamy” if that happens at the end of the season.
It is customary for the manager to attend the AGM at Ibrox. The response to Clement’s presence will be influenced by what happens on the pitch at Perth. If you wanted the polar opposite of inspirational surroundings, you’d probably make McDiarmid Park at noon on a winter’s day high among your choices.
But Clement dare not fail to reproduce the Riviera in rural surroundings and can’t possibly afford to sustain further damage in the league.
The fans’ often-repeated claim – that the manager watches a different game from them – is underlined whenever Clement says there’s no difference between what Rangers do domestically and in Europe.
That is transparently untrue. He must now win in Perth and at Dingwall next weekend while beating Kilmarnock at home in between time. The game against Derek McInnes’ side is significant for two reasons. It’s on the night before the AGM and against a Killie side managed by the man whose name is frequently touted for Clement’s job.
The person who is allegedly a dead man walking at Ibrox has the means of staging a full recovery in his own hands. But failure to win maximum points from his next three league games puts Philippe back into intensive care.
The club’s AGM, in the meantime, will act as a temperature check. Disruptive or demonstrably supportive? The latter choice seemed fanciful, if not delusional, a week ago. Clement has created a chink of light since then.
The next week will be fascinating to watch.