Kris Boyd knew the writing was on the wall for Philippe Clement when the Rangers manager celebrated a draw with Celtic.
Clement bizarrely claimed a “moral victory” in the 3-3 Old Firm classic at Ibrox after Gers twice came from behind to snatch a draw against the Hoops. The result left the Light Blues a point behind their bitter rivals with a game in hand, but a disastrous collapse in form saw Celts take command in the title race to eventually be crowned three-in-a-row champions.
And Boyd believes that was the beginning of the Belgian’s downfall in Govan as his turbulent 17-month reign was brought to an end on Sunday night amidst a calamitous season, leaving crisis-hit Rangers with nothing to play for domestically as Celtic target another Treble.
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Asked when the alarm bells started ringing, Boyd told Sky Sports: “I think when you look back to March or April time last year. Rangers lost at home to Motherwell, but just after that, the 3-3 with Celtic… When you look back now, there were signs there celebrating a draw with Celtic in a must-win game. I don’t think it’s something you do as a Rangers manager.
“Then, you go to Ross County and lose that game then draw 0-0 at Dundee. It was a bad period for Philippe Clement. You always felt it was going to be a big summer rebuild for Rangers, but the signings haven’t been good enough. Then you lose the Champions League qualifier to Dynamo Kyiv. Maybe you wouldn’t have qualified for the Champions League, but that was £5million that would have been able to help Rangers but it wasn’t to be. They lost out.
“You also had the whole Hampden thing at the start of the season. So, a lot of things have been built up to this point. At the end of the day, as a manager, you’re in control of what happens on the pitch. You look at Rangers in recent weeks especially, yes they may be lacking in confidence, but there’s no real style of play. They are just hoping that something happens.
“The chopping and changing of players, the amount of substitutions at half-time, the summer signings that have now found themselves out the team, and also the interviews after the game were telling. It was a comedy for the majority of the time with Philippe Clement, especially this season. Come Saturday night there, you could tell that he was a broken man and it was only a matter of time before Rangers decided that enough was enough.
“You’ve also got to take into consideration that the Rangers Football Club brand would’ve been damaged had this continued. You look at the empty stands at the weekend – the fans had had enough. When your stadium is more or less empty with 15 minutes to go, I think that tells you everything you need to know.”