Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has taken aim at Rangers manager Philippe Clement, calling out what he views as a series of missteps that have frustrated the Ibrox fans.
Writing in The Daily Record, Sutton highlighted Clement’s tendency to emphasise “moral victories” and “expected goals” after disappointing results for his side in the Derbies, arguing that these comments show a disconnect with the expectations of Rangers supporters.
Sutton points to last season’s draw against Celtic at Ibrox, where a late Rabbi Matondo goal salvaged a point. Clement’s comment that it was a “moral victory” raised eyebrows, with Sutton suggesting that the Rangers boss misunderstood the significance of such fixtures in Scottish football.
Clement’s recent habit of focusing on “expected goals” and “small positives” during losses and draws has, according to Sutton, alienated fans who expect clear-cut wins over the club’s rivals.
“They have the Belgian Beale in charge,” he wrote. “I can’t believe quite how off the rails the manager has gone. After his first few months there were positive signs. He secured a trophy and spoke a lot of sense.
“After the nonsense of Michael Beale, they looked to have a sensible, serious operator in charge.
“They now have a Belgian waffler who is spouting the kind of gibberish that Pedro Caixinha came out with. The warning signs were there last year with his ‘moral victory’ against Celtic and it’s got worse and worse.”
Sutton didn’t hold back on further examples, highlighting incidents where Clement seemed to misread the room entirely, including his “biggest win in four years” comment after a victory over Ross County and an over-the-top reaction to narrowly beating St Johnstone at Hampden.
“There was the ‘biggest win in four years’ after beating the mighty Ross County. The shots on goal trophy after getting thumped by Celtic. The hurling the boards at Hampden to celebrate after squeezing past St Johnstone.
“The can-can in the Ibrox press room, the constant promise of jam tomorrow. His post match interview on Sky the other night was the final straw.”
With Rangers already nine points behind Celtic, Clement’s approach has drawn mounting criticism, especially as Rangers struggle to close the gap on their rivals.
Pressure is bounding on the Belgian Beale, who can surely only be a few games away from the sack.
