Philippe Clement: Win over Hearts a mere ‘stay of execution’ for Rangers’ boss?

Hearts strike legend John Robertson rued his former side’s missed chances.

“Kabangu had six or seven opportunities,” he said on BBC Sportsound. “Hearts missed three or four sitters. Butland has had four or five good saves – some magnificent.”

Former Hearts and Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson could not “quite believe” what he was watching.

“The amount of absolute sitters Hearts have missed,” he said. “I’ve watched numerous Hearts v Rangers games and I can’t remember Hearts making so many chances against Rangers.

“Rangers are a shambles from corner kicks and set-pieces against them. On another day, they could have conceded quite a few goals. They’ve got away with one this afternoon.”

Rangers have now won five league games in a row, their longest run since winning nine last January-February.

However, although they also ended Hearts’ nine-game unbeaten run, former Ibrox youth striker Rory Loy thought it was only “a big win” and “impressive based on the poor standards they have set”.

“Five wins in a row should happen numerous times throughout a season if you are looking to achieve your goals and, historically, Rangers have been able to do that,” he said.

Loy thinks Clement might still need to win the Europa League to save his job come the end of the season given they had never lost to a second-tier side at home in the cup and are highly unlikely to catch Celtic in the league.

“I can’t help but feel it is a stay of execution for Clement,” he said. “Winning the Europa League might change things, but domestically there’s nothing to grasp on to.

“I was very surprised he was in the dugout today based on last week. I just think it is kicking the can down the road a little bit.”

Clement had left last week’s meeting with chief executive Patrick Stewart still believing he had the backing of the board, but Loy thinks sticking with the Belgian until the end of the season “breeds negativity” among the players and fans.