Rangers men turn on Philippe Clement as respected Ibrox figures speak out and 'termination clause' addressed

The result has left his embattled Rangers side nine points behind both Celtic and Aberdeen in the William Hill Premiership table and has led to calls for Clement to be sacked after just 13 months in the job.

The beleagured Belgian appears not only to have lost the faith of most supporters, but he is also coming under fire from respected Rangers men in the media, who have taken umbrage not only with the team's performances this season, but also some of the manager's comments, particularly those made in the wake of the Wednesday's damaging loss.

Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd pulled no punches as he delivered his scathing assessment live on Sky Sports in the aftermath of the full-time whistle. Asked if Clement needs to go, he replied: "For me, yes, now he does. If there's progression you can cut him some slack and say, it's okay, there's players coming in, it's a new group. Eight of the 11 were already at the football club before he arrived. That's not progression.

"We said it under Michael Beale and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Once the fans turn, and believe me, having spoken to a few of them, they have turned, even the ones with blue-tinted glasses on can see right through what is going on right now. It's easy in interviews to kick the can down the street and say we'll get better, but there is nothing to suggest that it's going to get better to give him longer. Take nothing away from Aberdeen, they deserved their victory. They are a far better team than Rangers. Better manager than Rangers, better recruitment than Rangers."

Clement signed a new contract in the summer, tying him to Rangers until 2028, but Boyd does not believe that will be a stumbling block when it comes to negotiating his exit should the club cave in to the current pressure.

"The new contract, and I said it at the time, was all a perception," Boyd added. "Because everybody was against Rangers, it was 'we're backing our manager and this is the way we're going to go'. I don't think anything has changed behind the scenes. It's easy to say he's signed another year, but the termination clause will still be the same. We all know how they work. It's exactly the same, it just looks better that the manager's got a new contract and we're all together. I don't think the contract makes a difference. There's no way any manager is getting the full contract unless your Jose Mourinho. It's never going to affect his pay-off. Whatever his pay-off was remains the same with two, three or four years. That's common knowledge."

Clement raised eyebrows after the match in his assertion that his team's performance against Aberdeen was one of their best of the season and was decided by a "toenail" offside decision which ruled out a Ross McCausland equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Few, if anyone, agreed.

Neil McCann, a title-winning former Rangers winger, told Sportscene: "I have to say I disagree with Philippe Clement saying that that was one of the best performances of the season with this young group. It's not a young group. There's one or two young guys in there. Kasanwirjo's a young guy, he's on loan. Cerny's on loan. And Barron and you've got McCausland playing, but it's not a young group as such. We're almost in November. And you can't have that type of Jekyll and Hyde performance. Brilliant against a European, poor against St Mirren for me and then coming (to Pittodrie).

"I think he will be given time, I mean where are they going to go? He has just signed a new contract, and he is talking about building for the future. But, the future is now. The Rangers fans might not want to give him time because nine points behind Aberdeen is not accepted by the Rangers fans."

Cammy Bell, the former Rangers goalkeeper, went even further, branding Clement "delusional" on the BBC Radio Scotland Football Podcast. Bell said: "I think he's delusional the way he's talking and what he's trying to put over to the press and the fans is the complete opposite of what we're seeing on the pitch. There is a crisis - you've got to use that word at the moment. When you watch that display, again it was toothless, lacklustre, no energy, no idea on the pitch. For so long they've just got over the line this season. There's no style of play - that's been mentioned a lot under Philippe Clement. The players just look really flat at the moment and they are miles behind Aberdeen."

Bell believes that a Rangers defeat to Motherwell in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden on Saturday will spell the end of Clement's tenure at the club. "If he loses at the weekend he will go," he added. "I fully expect him to leave the club if they don't win. I think he's under huge pressure at the moment. That gap to Aberdeen is unacceptable. Take nothing away from Aberdeen and what they've done this season, but nine points isn't good enough to be sitting behind Aberdeen and Celtic at this moment in time in the league. He needs to win at the weekend. He needs a big performance as well. I still think after a win at the weekend he needs to show the club and the fans that there is a future going forward with him."

Derek Ferguson, who played 148 times for Rangers in the 1980s and is now a pundit on BBC Sportsound, also expressed doubts about Clement.

"I think he's starting to lose the players. He's losing me," Ferguson said. "When he first came in, I was impressed by the way he turned things round but he seems to be seeing a different game from the one I'm seeing. He's certainly under pressure. The level of performance has not been good enough. The club from top to bottom at the minute is an absolute shambles."