Rangers CEO addresses 'disastrous' Queen's Park defeat and why Philippe Clement is still manager

Clement has come under renewed pressure following the shock 1-0 loss to the Championship side on February 9 having previously survived calls to be sacked in January amid poor league form.

The prospect of domestic success this season has all but disappeared but progress to the last 16 of the Europa League is one source of positivity for the beleagued Belgian head coach.

Rangers are in the midst of a review of football operations which is being carried out by an outside party and while Stewart admitted the cup defeat was “a source of shame”, he stressed that sacking Clement does not align with his long-term plans for the club.

"I'm going to go back to what I said in January," Stewart told Rangers TV. "We have been underperforming as a club for several seasons now and that's not down to a manager. We've changed the manager and it's not made a difference. But what I'm doing now is looking at the root causes of that. Until we sort those root causes, it's akin to trying to fix a broken house, and starting with the ceiling, instead of starting with the root foundations.

"For all the Queen's Park result was disastrous, we do also have to give credit to Philippe and the team for the Europa League run. We had a really tough draw. Four of the top eight we played against and we finished in the top eight so they deserve real credit for that. I don't want to take a step that would put further progress in the Europa League at risk, so that's another reason why we continue to keep Philippe in his role.

“I’m not here to make popular decisions and get quick wins. I do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past. I’m not going to do that. I’ve got to keep real discipline and focus on making sure that we are making the right decisions in the right order for the long term benefit of the club, and not knee-jerk reacting to what was, frankly, a disastrous result.

“I’m not trying to duck from that, but we’ve got to stick to the plan. We are all judged on results. There are no free passes here but we are sticking to the plan and are going to be incredibly disciplined about that because we have not always been that in the past.”

Addressing the cup defeat - the first time Rangers have exited the competition at home to lower league opposition - Stewart added: "I don't want anyone to doubt the gravity of the result and how I view the result. You can't sugarcoat it. It was disastrous. It's historically a significant moment. That is not lost on me and it's a source of shame for the club.

"Clearly, there is a financial impact as well but more importantly it was a really good opportunity to win a trophy and that's now gone. It's impacted everyone at the club, let's be clear. Everyone at Auchenhowie but everyone around club, it's impacted morale and serious questions have been asked. It's a massive blow."