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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Lana Mackay

Rangers worse under Clement than they were under Beale, says Kris Boyd

Kris Boyd has claimed Philippe Clement’s Rangers side are worse than they were under Michael Beale in a damning review of the Belgian’s first year in charge.

It has been an underwhelming start to the season for the Gers who currently sit six points off the top of the table, with 16 points from eight games. 

With Celtic and Aberdeen holding each other to a 2-2 draw on Saturday, the Light Blues missed out on a valuable opportunity to close the gap following Sunday's disappointing 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. 

Speaking on Go Ballistic on SunSport’s YouTube channel, Boyd was asked whether he thought Rangers were better or worse a year on from Clement taking charge. “Worse,” he said. “There’s no getting away from it.


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“I don’t know where Philippe Clement goes from here.

“I’m not saying all the fans have turned, but it’s getting to that stage now.

“There’s something just not working at Rangers. It’s a million miles from where it needs to be.

“He was able to kick the can down the street in the summer. He said he had to get new players in and get them up to speed.

“They’re up to speed, they’re performing — and they’re just not up to the level Rangers need them to be.

“It’s hard to build a case for saying there’s been improvement in this department, there’s been improvement there and you feel as if it’s going to get better in the long run.

“I just don’t see it. The Killie performance is as poor as I’ve seen in a long, long time.

“Philippe Clement tried to predict the future in terms of, ‘we will be 200 per cent better come October’. I really don’t see it."

Previous Rangers manager Michael Beale was sacked last October after just 10 months in charge following a 3-1 defeat at home to Aberdeen. The Gers were trailing Celtic by seven points at the time after suffering a third league defeat in seven games.

Former Monaco and Club Bruges head coach Clement was named as Beale's successor, signing a three-and-a-half year contract. The 50-year-old was given a new deal in the summer, keeping him at Ibrox until 2028.

“For me it’s getting to the worrying stage," Boyd continued.

“The next couple of weeks is going to be massive. You’ve got a European game on Thursday night, you’ve got a home game against St Mirren.

“Rangers have got absolutely no chance of getting anywhere near Celtic this season.

“I could be left with egg on my face, I’ve said absolutely no chance Aberdeen finish second. I still believe they don’t.

“But looking at it right now, at least they’re a team that’s together, they’re a team that’s fighting, they’re a team fighting for their manager.

“There’s so many problems at Rangers right now.

“It’ll be interesting to see what the attendance is against FCSB on Thursday.

“Rangers now have seven games in 21 days. It’s a big period for them and it’s a big period for Clement.”

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