In the wake of Philippe Clement’s abrupt departure from Rangers, previous remarks made by Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers in 2023 have garnered renewed attention. The sacking of Clement, following a disappointing home defeat at the hands of St Mirren, has cast the Rangers back into a state of uncertainty.
Clement’s exit had been a subject of speculation for some time. Under his leadership, the Rangers had struggled to achieve consistent performance, falling significantly behind their arch-rivals Celtic in the race for the title. Aside from a solitary 3-0 victory in the Glasgow Derby earlier this year, Clement’s tenure was devoid of significant accomplishments, barring the previous season’s League Cup win.
Despite being awarded a long-term contract earlier this season, the situation under Clement’s stewardship had deteriorated to the point of no return, prompting the Rangers’ decision to sever ties. As the dust settles following Clement’s departure, the attention is now turning towards who will be his long-term successor at Ibrox. Meanwhile, Barry Ferguson has been assigned the responsibilities of head coach until the season’s end.
In the midst of this managerial upheaval, Brendan Rodgers’ comments from late 2023 are being revisited. In a video shared by STV Sport, Rodgers was quoted saying, “Over my two spells here, Scott, I’ve worked against five Rangers managers and every time Rangers were coming. Every time, at some point. So, for me it’s normal.” He further elaborated, “If I listen to media and press, then we would be in constant crisis mode and constant fear of Rangers.“But it’s the fifth manager now. So for me, my focus is only on Celtic and concentrated very much on here. A lot of the stuff that maybe does go around, thankfully, I ignore it.”
Rodgers has seen his fair share of managerial turnover in the Rangers camp. It has become a recurring theme for the Rangers – each incoming manager is hailed as a messiah only to face an inevitable downward spiral.
As the Rangers navigate this period of transition, Rodgers’ words serve as a stark reminder of the tumultuous and cyclical nature of football management, where the only constant is change.