Sorry Philippe, but you can’t keep your job at a big club if you can’t compete, writes GARY KEOWN as Rangers’ form continues to slip

It lasted ten games Ruben Amorim to go public and accept and confront the reality of life at a huge club in which a return to a position of strength is non-negotiable.

Just over a month into his reign in Manchester Unitedhe talked about his job being in jeopardy because he doesn’t win often enough. And if he needed any reminders of the ruthless nature of life at those sides serious about success, he only had to look over his shoulder at his old employers Sporting Lisbon, who sacked his successor Joao Pereira. Christmas A day after eight lackluster games in the lead.

This is life in a shark tank. It is the lot of the football manager. This is why big figures in big clubs earn big money.

Amorim realizes this. He is not spoken to about injuries, young players, long-term projects, financial figures, boardroom problems and how the loss at Pittodrie could still qualify as the best display of the campaign.

The Portuguese is at Old Trafford to win games to make United competitive immediately, while also embarking on a rebuild for next season and beyond. He works with a team of players that cost the GDP of a small nation to build. There’s no hiding place—and he’s not even looking for one.

So what is it talking about? Rangers that they have 10 months down the line from the wheels coming off the cart under their manager Philippe Clement and still clinging to the Belgian, still regularly accepting dismal performances and results, still listening to his excuses and still refusing to pull the trigger?

It was March 2nd when this project started going south under this head coach. Yes, that long ago. Rangers edged ever closer to an unlikely title triumph against reeling Celtic, only for Motherwell to travel to Ibrox and win 2-1. Well deserved, by the way, despite Clement insisting afterwards that his side should somehow be 6-1 winners.

A calm, level-headed, forceful voice for the first five months or so on the job, it is now clear that this was the moment when the mask began to crack under the pressure. Now much of Light Blue’s fan base can’t even face listening to it.

From being “moral winners” after a 3-3 Old Firm draw at home to babbling about shots on goal when you were dismantled 3-0 at Parkhead, his credibility has been lost.

Steering a direct course towards last season’s Premiership crown from a winning position would have earned Rangers £40m in Champions League cash. They blew it.

They got a second bite at the cherry in this year’s qualifiers against a rotten Dynamo Kyiv, who then went to limited RB Salzburg and blew it. This is a Dynamo Kyiv team currently sitting at the bottom of the Europa League table without a point from six games and 15 goals conceded.

This failure, given the financial problems at Ibrox and the free money from the Champions League, could have been the end for Clement. He collapsed at Aberdeen in October and Clement called it his best performance of the season, should it was over.

And yet here we are. Rangers are 12 points behind Celtic before the end of the season and have won three of eight away games in the league, losing four and conceding a miserable seven goals.

Amorim works in a league where even bottom-of-the-table opposition have staggering sums of money to spend. Take a look at the Wolves side who recorded a 2-0 home win over United on Boxing Day.

Matheus Cunha cost £44 million. Goncalo Guedes cost 28 million pounds. Nelson Semedo cost £28 million. Andre cost £20 million. The list goes on. There are some really talented people out there. Still, Amorim accepts that losing these matches is not acceptable.

The Rangers are up against teams that dig around in the dirty second basket for button guys. And yet Kilmarnock and St Mirren turned them on this term. Motherwell pushed them all the way to the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup and they will be smelling blood at Fir Park this afternoon.

You can’t count on the Rangers to beat anyone on the road. But when Clement was asked about his position last month, he made it clear no fear the sack. He was on a long-term project that only started in June, he said. He pointed to the club’s latest set of dismal financial results and the “vacuum” that existed without a chief executive.

Yes, Clement was dealt a heavy hand at Rangers. He basically admitted once that he was sold a puppy before quickly backtracking. However, even Amorim almost did not reach a stable environment.

United were as big a basket case as anywhere else, but he isn’t using that as a reason why he hasn’t been able to get results. He knows it doesn’t work that way at Old Trafford.

It shouldn’t be the way it works at Rangers, but it clearly is. Robin Propper, one of many poor, poor players, was out again this week, claiming that life at Ibrox is so different to what he was used to at FC Twente.

“You can lose in Twente,” said the Dutchman. “Everything is bad at Rangers after the disappointment in the eyes of the outside world. You must become champions.’

Not just you, right? Otherwise, why would the manager still be in place with the league at Christmas? Why would former chairman John Gilligan support Clement at the AGM and talk about giving him time to bring in younger players?

Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sacked when he trailed Celtic by nine points. Michael Beale was seven in arrears when he left. How far does Clement have to fall before it’s time?

New chief executive Patrick Stewart used his first interview to say he saw positive signs in the Europa League draw with Spurs and the penalty shoot-out loss to Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup final.

Penny for his thoughts now, after that midweek collapse at St Mirren. The common consensus is that Stewart will have a big challenge if Rangers lose at home to Celtic on Thursday.

Look, Clement shouldn’t be in the position he is. Going into the seventh meeting with Celtic without a win and all logic would suggest that the game is finally over.

We’ll definitely get an insight into just how much power Stewart has indeed they control should Rangers fall 15 points or more behind their arch-rivals.

As it stands now, the Ibrox club look like they are quietly accepting that they will be second best. Calmly tolerate a failing manager and a failing team and hope for the best, because it will cost another fortune to rip up and re-fix all their mistakes.

Rangers go to Old Trafford on European affairs in just over three weeks’ time. Whatever happens in the coming days, who would bet Clement will still be at the helm by then, enjoying a post-match drink with Amori and comparing the challenges they face?

It would be easy to think of the pair, despite the financial gap between the worlds they inhabit, as peas in a pod. Guys trying to turn dysfunctional fallen giants around.

But they are not. Amorim showed it a few days ago. He understands the reality of his position. Clement gradually detaches himself from it more and more. Made possible by a board that won’t put him out of his misery.

Valakari came under pressure

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari knows what he needs as he faces a grim battle to overcome relegation between now and May.

With the start of next month’s transfer window, quick signings – including a goalkeeper and a right-back – and solid support from Saints owner Adam Webb are a must.

What he doesn’t need is more pressure in what is already a testing situation, but it is hard not to lose sight of the view he has brought on himself by bringing in his 26-year-old son Paav as the club’s new performance manager. .

Valakari jnr’s role involves “analyzing the game model and performance while determining how future improvements can be made”. He is part of the first-team coaching staff, so what is played on the park in the coming months will be partly down to him.

It could work out. Forward Makenzie Kirk hasn’t fared too badly of late, despite his old man Andy being part of the coaching staff.

However, giving work to family members when you’re just in the door is generally not a good look. And if things don’t improve, you can bet your bottom dollar is going to be thrown at you when the toes start getting pointed.

In a club whose quest to stay awake brings with it all kinds of interesting stories and subplots, this is right up there. Paavo should be as good as his old man apparently thinks.

Grace under pressure will serve Gray well

Fair play to Hibernian manager David Gray. He looked like his goose was cooked about a month ago when his side lost 4-1 at Dundee, and while he is not out of the woods just yet, three wins in four games has made the picture a lot more encouraging.

But what’s just as impressive about the 36-year-old is the way he’s handled a very stressful season so far.

He accepted the responsibility, continued to believe in his players and refused to deviate from the fact that results will define his future and that if things do not improve, the inevitable end result is dismissal.

Despite being under duress, dealing with reports that shareholder Bill Foley and his Black Knight group were not convinced he would become boss and then writing him off in many areas including this, he was always extremely polite and open to answering honestly questions.

It is not easy for a novice manager. It’s easy to get caught up and let your emotions control you. Gray seems, if anything, to have grown into his role through adversity, becoming more confident and sure of his words.

Whether Gray is actually a decent manager remains to be seen. However, he showed quite clearly that he is a decent person.