Rangers have announced that Philippe Clement has been sacked after 16 months in charge at Ibrox.
Clement had come under increased pressure following a disappointing run of results over the festive period, winning just two matches out of eight in all competitions up to January 9.
Last month, Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart reassured Clement that his job was safe for the time being and insisted that "changing a manager isn't a silver bullet solution".
However, Stewart also made it clear that results must improve under Clement, with no "cast iron guarantees" offered to the 50-year-old Belgian.
Clement responded by steering Rangers to six wins out of seven, with a last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Manchester United being the only blot on his copybook in all competitions up to the beginning of February.
However, Rangers have since suffered two disappointing home defeats in their last three games, losing 1-0 to second-tier side Queen's Park in the Scottish Cup fifth round before churning out another poor performance in a 2-0 defeat against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership last weekend.
That defeat to St Mirren proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Clement, who extended his contract at Rangers until 2028 last summer, but now leaves the club sitting second in the Premiership and 13 points behind leaders and Old Firm rivals Celtic.
Rangers Football Club can confirm it has tonight parted company with men's first-team manager, Philippe Clement.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) February 23, 2025
The club would like to put on record their sincere thanks to Philippe for his hard work and dedication during his spell in charge.
A further update from the club... pic.twitter.com/OsllXO31Ln
Rangers confirm Clement dismissal after St Mirren loss
A statement released on Sunday evening on their official website read: "Rangers Football Club can confirm it has tonight parted company with men's first-team manager, Philippe Clement.
"The club would like to put on record their sincere thanks to Philippe for his hard work and dedication during his spell in charge.
"A further update from the club will follow in due course."
After spells in charge of Waasland-Beveren, Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco, Clement replaced Michael Beale as Rangers manager in October 2023 and won the Scottish League Cup less than two months into his tenure.
However, the Gers finished last season's Premiership campaign eight points behind champions Celtic and have failed to mount a serious challenge for the title this term, while they also lost on penalties to Celtic in the Scottish League Cup final at the end of last year and could end the season trophyless, unless they surprisingly triumph in the Europa League.
Clement departs Rangers with a record of 55 wins, 16 draws and 15 defeats in 86 matches across all competitions, boasting a win percentage of 63.95%.
© Imago
Who are the contenders to replace Clement as Rangers manager?
Clement's dismissal has come at a time when 49ers Enterprises are negotiating a potential takeover of Rangers, and it is understood that it could be completed between April and June.
It seems likely that they will have a say in who is appointed as Rangers' next manager, and one of the bookmakers' favourites to take charge is former boss Steven Gerrard.
The Liverpool legend enjoyed a successful spell in charge of the Gers between June 2018 and November 2021, famously winning the 2020-21 Premiership title with 102 points and going the entire campaign unbeaten.
Gerrard decided to leave Rangers to become Aston Villa manager, where he spent just 11 months in charge, and the 44-year-old most recently experienced a two-and-a-half-year spell with Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ettifaq, but he decided to leave by mutual consent last month.
Another name who could be in the frame for the Rangers job is Russell Martin, a 29-cap Scotland international who spent a brief period on loan at Ibrox in 2018 and has been out of managerial work since being sacked by Southampton in December last year.
Steven Davis, who spent over eight years with Rangers across two spells in his playing career before taking interim charge of the club in 2023, is another name who has been tipped to succeed Clement.
Meanwhile, Shanghai Port boss Kevin Muscat - another former Rangers player - Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes, ex-Everton manager Sean Dyche, former Wolves boss Gary O'Neil and ex-Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand are also among the current bookmakers' favourites.
Oliver Thomas
