Philippe Clement has 'worked wonders' with shambolic Rangers side that could have finished fifth under Beale
Derek Ferguson has leapt to the defence of the Belgian boss by delivering a brutal prediction had they not decided to sack Michael Beale.
Former Rangers star Derek Ferguson has launched a passionate defence of Philippe Clement, insisting he has "worked wonders" at Ibrox after inheriting a shambolic side.
He even reckons his old club could have finished as low as FIFTH in the Scottish Premiership this season if Michael Beale was still in charge as he challenged former Gers striker Kevin Kyle’s claim that their season has been a disappointment.
The Light Blues were seven points adrift of Celtic when Clement was appointed as Beale’s successor, with the Belgian clinching League Cup glory within two months of his arrival and dragging them back into pole position in the title race only to falter drastically when the finishing line was in sight.
Dropped points against Ross County, Dundee and Motherwell handed Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops the initiative at a crucial stage and they never looked back over the remaining couple of weeks to lift the title for a third consecutive year running. The Parkhead club followed up that success by retaining the Scottish Cup seven days later to seal a domestic double.
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, Kyle said: “I think they will be disappointed with their season considering the position they got themselves in after the 3-3 draw at home to Celtic. If they had taken that game to Celtic at Ibrox and won that game then they would have been clear with one Old Firm game to go. Then Celtic would have been relying on Rangers to drop points.”
But Ferguson - who won five major honours including two league titles during his Gers career - argued Clement has done as well as could be expected with the players at his disposal. He claims the squad are to blame for their end-of-season failures.
“I’m speaking as a Rangers fan here,” he said. “They were an absolute shambles. But what happened later was that the players got themselves into a position where they had an opportunity to win it and mentally they weren’t strong enough. They couldn’t handle it. That’s nothing to do with Philippe Clement.
“He worked wonders with that group of players at times because if Michael Beale had stayed they would have finished fourth or fifth. What he achieved with that group - in terms of injuries and mentality - was unbelievable.”