Pyrotechnics are an obvious worry for Rangers.
Distress flares would be a major concern on Sunday at Kilmarnock if any are let off in response to matters on the park. I tried to be discreet last week when I revealed Rangers had lost a closed-door game against another Premiership side. Then Tony Docherty, who was not my informant, publicly stated it had been his Dundee team who had beaten Philippe Clement’s side in Glasgow.
Today the doors will be thrown wide open at Rugby Park and live TV coverage will service an armchair audience. There will be no hiding place for Clement. The man who celebrated his first anniversary in the job at Ibrox last Tuesday came in with the remit to make Rangers better than they were.
I would argue most of the club’s supporters don’t think that has been achieved yet. I felt for the interim chairman, John Gilligan, when he begged with the recalcitrant element among the support to put away their fireworks before someone suffers a serious injury. That could be Rangers if any more pyrotechnic displays lead to the financial disaster of having part of the ground closed by UEFA on European nights.
As if Gilligan doesn’t have enough to worry about. The clue is in the title, really, when it comes to pyrotechnics. The fans who cause the trouble unfurl a banner pronouncing themselves to be “Rangers Riot Crew”. They are there with the intention of being disruptive.
Clement has to maintain stability by not losing games of football, domestic or European. It is an onerous burden but it’s the current price of the ticket on the manager’s jacket.