Rangers: Phillipe Clement’s lack of progress criticised by Kris Boyd after Kilmarnock defeat | Football News
Kris Boyd slammed Rangers after they slumped to defeat at Kilmarnock and says they have not improved since Philippe Clement took charge.
Rangers failed to close the gap on Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic, who dropped points against Aberdeen on Saturday, as Marley Watkins’ late strike secured a 1-0 win for Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
Clement’s side remain in third, six points adrift of Celtic and Aberdeen, eight games into the season.
Michael Beale was sacked last season when Rangers were seven points behind Celtic after seven games and Boyd is not convinced that his successor has managed to change things at Ibrox.
Kilmarnock’s Marley Watkins powers his way through the Rangers defence to grab a late lead at home
“We sat here last year and said it wasn’t good enough under Michael Beale,” Sky Sports pundit Boyd said after the defeat.
“I don’t see any improvement. I really don’t see any improvement.
“Rangers have good players in this team but they never dominate matches. There is no style to anything they do.”
He added: “Rangers were toothless in attack.
“If results continue the way they are, there are big questions which are going to be asked. Rangers are not progressing as a football club.”
Rangers are six points adrift of leaders Celtic and Aberdeen
Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton added: “From Rangers’ perspective, all season the performances haven’t been there. When they lose in the manner that they did today, you have to worry. They seem miles off it.
“But I do think there has to be patience because what is the alternative? Sack Clement? Get someone else in? The new manager will come in and say ‘give me £20m to spend on new players’.”
Fans held up banners in the second half of the game calling for the “mismanagement” at Rangers to stop, after interim chairman John Gilligan hit back in midweek at claims over the lack of leadership.
Asked if solving their off-field issues may help Rangers, Clement said: “I don’t want to go into that because I don’t want excuses about pitches, winds, whatever.
“We need to focus on ourselves, on the players, on the new players coming in, to get them at their best level, focus on the players who were here, to get to their best level, and to play better than we did today.
“I was not pleased with that game in the first half. The second half was much better, but then you get this goal against.
“In the end, if you win this game, which was possible in the second half, and you scored the goal, you can have a totally different feeling.
“But we didn’t do enough to get that feeling, so we need to learn from that and be stronger on Thursday and the Sunday after, and the weeks to come.
“We have 30 games to go, so it’s always disappointing to lose points because we want to win all the games. So we’re focused on that.”
Rangers’ Leon Balogun apologises to the fans at full time.
Asked about the fans’ unhappiness, Clement said: “It’s normal that they’re unhappy. There’s not one person on the staff or one player who was happy after this game, after losing.
“So that’s normal. The players showed respect towards the fans, the fans showed what they felt about the results, and that’s normal.
“So it’s about getting back the results, that’s the main thing , and then the fans get behind you.
“I think the anger has to do with a lot of things. So I will be focused on the sporting side to get the best out of this squad.
“We’re going to work really hard with this squad, and there is a lot of potential in this squad. Much more potential than people see maybe for the moment. So it’s about working hard with them and making them better.”
