Simon Jordan has accused Rangers icon Graeme Souness of silence on Philippe Clement amid increased scrutiny over his long-term future at Ibrox.
Going into the crucial clash with Aberdeen at Pittodrie, the Light Blues are trailing the Dons and league leaders Celtic by six points after a sluggish start to the season. The legendary Rangers figure helped out in the process of the appointment of the Belgian last year and has went to bat for the boss with the club trailing Brendan Rodgers’ table toppers and Jimmy Thelin’s surging Dons – putting the blame on the early season disappointments down to a lack of spending power in the summer at Ibrox.
Just last month Souness insisted that Clement was the right man to lead the club forward – but the boss could be facing a turning point should Gers fall to close the gap on the Reds. Speaking to talkSPORT about before the high-pressure Premiership clash in the Granite City, Jordan jabbed: “Currently the honeymoon period is over for him. Souness was taking the credit for him when things were going well and has gone quiet now.”
Ibrox icon Souness has weighed in on the finances in Govan already this season – insisting that his former club need to splash £50million on up to four quality additions to close the gap on Celtic. However, with the club posting a £17m loss in their annual accounts that type of spending power in the transfer market appears to be some way off.
Pundit Tam McManus reckons missteps in the windows have left Rangers with the massive deficit – with the former Hibs man proclaiming that only someone with “deep pockets” can help rebuild the club. He told PLZ: “They spent £21m pounds on players last season.
“They will probably get a couple of million for (Cyriel) Dessers, but out of that £21m I don’t see any that they are going to get substantial money for. (Jack) Butland, last season was probably the time to cash in and get decent money for him.
“That is the issue. There is nobody there they can get money for. £90m revenue and losing £17m, I mean it’s not as if they are not making money but they are spending it terribly. They are haemorrhaging money and they are not spending it well, whether than is on recruitment or other aspects of the club.
“The directors are getting it in the neck but some of them are propping the club up at the minute. It’s a real mess at the minute and if you are a Rangers fan you are really worried about the future at the club.
“I don’t think it’s sustainable, the current model. I think they need outside investment, they need to old cliche a sugardaddy. They need somebody with really deep pockets to come and put money into the club. The current board of directors are doing well, they are putting their own money in and you have got to give them credit for that but they are never going to close the gap on Celtic the way they are.”