Rangers 0-2 St Mirren: The buck stops at Phil

Morning all, Rangers slipped to an uninspiring defeat at the hands of the Buddies at Ibrox yesterday. My preview was dominated by takeover talk, this was largely because it was pretty obvious that we'd approach the game in the same way we've done all season. The question was if we'd get another result relying on the quality of a few individuals or would the opposition find us out (not for the first time).

Clearly it was the latter. St Mirren approached the game in a similar way to the recent match at St Mirren park. They were in a mid-block out of possession for most of the game, but they had several pressing triggers that would cause them to step onto the Rangers team and ask them a few questions. Our playing out from the back was exposed as a result. Given the quality in the team, any team apart from Celtic trying to press us so high at Ibrox should almost be laughed off the park. If St Mirren tried to play that way against our Old Firm rivals I'd expect them to lose by 5+ goals. Instead, our insipid approach to playing out all season has given a side like St Mirren the confidence to come to Glasgow and press us into going long or giving it away in our own third.

We had a very early warning sign when Butland gave the ball straight to a St Mirren forward in our box, but managed to save both the initial shot and the follow up effort very well. I've mentioned it on the blog before, but if English teams are offering us money for Butland, we need to take it and look for a keeper who can play with his feet. Liam Kelly isn't a great shot stopper, we know that, but just by being confident with the ball at his feet he allowed to us to play through most team's pressing attempts. Butland has games like today where the opposition turn the pressure up slightly and he immediately looks completely out his depth.

It's clear that St Mirren had a good game plan for causing us issues when we had the ball. When we bypassed their press or got the ball into midfield we looked bereft of ideas as always. That's what happens when a team plays out without a plan, you get it past a press, so you actually have a numerical advantage in midfield, but then your players need to work out how best to move the ball from the middle third into the final third and it all falls apart. We rely so heavily on Diomande taking the ball in the middle third and working it into the oppositions third. When he isn't able to do that, there's no one that looks capable of taking us into the opposition area and helping us maintain that territory.

The Buddies had caused us issues in the first half but hadn't been banging the door down. Truthfully though they looked much more likely to find a breakthrough in the second half. They would have been clearer favourites if a red card for an Igamane challenge hadn't been downgraded to a yellow upon review. Some rare praise for VAR in Scotland as it was the correct decision but you can see why the ref would think it was a red in real time. That wasn't the last say VAR would have in the game though.

As the team eventually made their way out for the second half, I'm not sure if St Mirren came out early or Clement kept the boys behind for longer than needed. We didn't look particularly fired up, it reeked of a team that can no longer be motivated by the man in charge. The players prepared to continue with their task of working out to get past St Mirren or trying to find a moment of individual brilliance to get a goal.

It was the Buddies that made the breakthrough though. A ball over the top seemed to cause Nsiala problems against Mandron, the young centre back tripped and fell, allowing the forward to put St Mirren one up at Ibrox. The ref initially gave the foul but was sent to the monitor by VAR, at which stage he swiftly overturned that decision and gave the goal. For me, this was the totally correct decision. Nsiala wasn't strong enough initially, in his panic he clipped his own heels at which point he threw himself to the ground hoping to get a sympathy foul from the ref. There's a low bar for fouls on defenders from forwards, but for me it didn't clear that bar.

1 goal down and I imagine many fans had mentally checked out, much like myself. We know Clement doesn't roll the dice like a normal manager, he only makes like-for-like changes. There's plenty that you can criticise the recent managers at Ibrox for, but when they needed a win you'd see 3 strikers on the pitch with Connor Goldson and Tav normally in the box aswell. Obviously being one goal down in the 51st minute is a bit early for the kitchen sink, but it's telling that even with a chance to gain 3 points on Celtic, Clement didn't make any kind of attacking tactical change. His options on the bench weren't incredible, but given how many issues St Mirren were causing with their wing backs going down the outside there could have been several moves made to counter that. It's pretty basic stuff, but a change that is semi cautious would have been to match St Mirren up in a 352. An ambitious manager would have flipped the onus onto St Mirren by going to a 4321 shape that would have really challenged St Mirren's commitment to their game plan.

We did none of that ofcourse. Instead the players struggled manfully and did their best with little instruction. When we went 2 goals down after some more weak defending from Nsiala no one was surprised. That triggered an exodus from the stands, those taking their Stars and Stripes with them probably realising just how much change is needed at this club before we can think about challenging Celtic.

When the final whistle went there wasn't enough fans in the ground left to boo. Clement made his way up the tunnel immediately. His post-match presser was that of a defeated man. When asked if he should still be Rangers manager he said it was a "decision for the board". Meaning he wants his big pay-off, and I don't blame him, if the club is stupid enough to give him such a long deal on the basis of very little, then he should be taking them for all they've got.

(image from @ibroxrocks on X)

It puts Patrick Stewart's interview in the limelight too. As I said in the preview he essentially said that Clements record in Europe was keeping him in the job, not financial concerns. Well his record in the league isn't coming to keep fans coming to games, so maybe there's a financial concern there.

I think this is maybe the 6th time I've called for Clement to be sacked. I really hope the owners don't wait for a disappointing defeat in Europe before pulling the trigger. There's effectively no pressure on him to win games in the league, because Celtic are so far ahead, yet we still can't produce anything resembling a good performance.

An interim manager should be appointed till the end of the season. If we keep Clement it will show how little those in charge actually want us to progress in Europe, or want the fans to actually enjoy watching their team play.

That's all for today, try and have a good Sunday everyone.