Rangers 'rule' putting 'massive pressure' on Philippe Clement - but he shouldn't be sacked claims 260-goal ace

The 50-year-old has come in for criticism throughout the season after a number of poor results left the Ibrox giants trailing Celtic by 13 points in the Scottish Premiership, and their domestic season is now all but over following the demoralising 1-0 Scottish Cup fifth round defeat to Queen’s Park last Sunday.

With Rangers far behind in the title race, it now looks as though Clement’s only shot at a trophy this season would come via the Europa League - a competition the club have never won before despite being in two finals. This means the Belgian could end the season having won just one piece of silverware from a possible seven during his tenure come the end of the campaign.

In charge of Rangers for 16 months, Clement has failed to mount a serious challenge to Celtic in the race for the title during his time at Ibrox, while he has also suffered back-to-back cup finals defeat against Brendan Rodgers’ side, leading many to call for his time at the club to be brought to an end.

The ex-Newcastle United and England striker was recently spotted at Ibrox during Rangers 3-0 win over Celtic at new year - Clement’s only victory over Celtic in his tenure - and said the Belgian shouldn't be sacked despite his struggles, but named the Ibrox ‘rule’ he feels has put him under huge pressure as he reflected on his recent visit to Govan.

“I saw Rangers’ result in the Scottish Cup against Queens Park,” the 260-goal former EPL striker told Betfair. “I was also there at Ibrox at the start of the year when Rangers battered Celtic 3-0. It's amazing when you can go from the high of that kind of win to the low of such a defeat in the space of just six weeks.

“You know the rule when you go into Rangers or Celtic: you have to win. You're up against your biggest rivals, and if your biggest rivals beat you consistently like Celtic are; then if you go into a cup competition and go out like they did, then you're going to be under huge pressure.

“I'm not one for saying that he should be sacked and I never will say that about managers, because I get how tough it is. However, you know the rules and are under massive pressure at these clubs. You run the risk of losing your job with results like that loss against Queens Park”