‘The board didn't have patience' – Philippe Clement opens up on Rangers sacking and says ‘they could have been calmer'
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PHILIPPE CLEMENT has rarely broken cover since being sacked as Rangers manager.
But he has recently had his say on Russell Martin's appointment as his replacement, and now the Belgian has opened up on his departure from the club earlier this year.
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Philippe Clement has opened up on his sacking by Rangers in February
Credit: Getty
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A 2-0 defeat to St Mirren was the final straw for the Gers board after an embarrassing Scottish Cup defeat to Queen's Park
Credit: Willie Vass
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Clement revealed the League Cup final defeat to Celtic was when he began fearing for his job
Credit: PA
The 51-year-old lost his job after a 2-0 home defeat to St Mirren in February.
Rangers had also been knocked out of the Scottish Cup in shocking fashion to second-tier Queen's Park, and lost the League Cup final on penalties to Celtic in December.
And Clement has revealed that Hampden failure had set alarm bells ringing for him, telling BBC Scotland he felt pressure from inside and outside the club.
Clement said: "I had a feeling, a bad feeling, after the League Cup final.
"I think it was a vital game.
"If we had won, there would have been more patience with the fans also and the board could have stayed much calmer."
Clement also revealed that he didn't feel his sacking was warranted and that, given more time and resources, Gers could have improved under his leadership.
He said: "It's a pity that the story stopped, that the board didn't have the patience, or maybe listened too much to some fans.
"In three or four windows, we could have closed the gap [to Celtic] with a good development of players, but the decision is made and you need to accept it."
Clement had only lasted 18 months in his previous gig at Monaco, having had short stints with SK Beveren and Genk and a three-year stay at Club Brugge in his homeland before that.
Rangers fans react to news Russell Martin is their new manager
He continued: "There are other clubs where there is a difficult moment and everybody sticks together because everybody knows the story, how the work is done inside the building, and they continue and they are successful afterwards."
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