Rangers boss Philippe Clement is fighting for his job. The Gers had yet another day to forget on Sunday, losing 1-0 away to Kilmarnock and yet more ground in the Scottish Premiership title race. The defeat means Clement’s side are now stuck six points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in third place after eight games played.
Not only are they struggling in the league, Rangers are also having a tough time in Europe. After failing to make it through Champions League qualifying, they were recently thumped 4-1 by French side Lyon in the Europa League.
As a result of their indifferent start to the campaign, fans are becoming impatient and pressure is mounting on Clement, who took over as boss in 2023. According to a recent report from Football Insider, preparations are being made for Clement’s dismissal with “sources close to the Rangers hierarchy” believing that “results this season have not met the board’s expectations”.
“There is now a growing feeling at Ibrox that Clement’s position is no longer secure,” Football Insider’s report claims.
Clement could now turn to youngsters to save himself
One of Rangers’ biggest problems this term has been finding the net away from home. At Ibrox, they’ve been clinical, scoring 11 in just four top flight games, but on the road, they’ve managed just one in four.
Cyriel Dessers is without a goal in five games and struggling for form, while Brazilian striker Danilo only made his return from injury earlier this week when he stepped out for Rangers B against Stenhousemuir in the Scottish Challenge Cup. According to Rangers News, Clement and the rest of his coaching staff were on hand to watch the game, which ended 4-1 to the Light Blues.
While Danilo was on the scoresheet, the Belgian manager was likely to have been more impressed with the display of teenage winger Findlay Curtis, who scored twice on the night. The 18-year-old opened the scoring after just 13 minutes and grabbed his second on the hour, curling a confident finish into the bottom corner.
While there’s no indication yet that Clement will call up Curtis to the first-team as a result of his impressive display, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise given his current squad’s recent struggles.
Who is Findlay Curtis?
Curtis began his journey with Rangers when he was just six years old and has since progressed through the ranks to become a regular for the club’s B team, for whom he’s now scored three times this season. Having already trained with the first-team, the youngster is hoping he can make his debut sooner rather than later.
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“I’ve trained with the first-team twice so far and they were a great experience. One was match prep but the other was a full session and I loved it,” Curtis said in a recent interview shared on Rangers’ official website.
“I love every single minute of it here and next season I will push as much as I can, do the right things on and off the pitch and focus on developing my game.You have to push for a chance in the first-team and to make my debut one day would be unbelievable.”
