Philippe Clement admitted he understood the fury of Rangers fans after his team’s latest dismal away performance.
A 1-1 draw with Tony Docherty’s threadbare Dundee side left the Ibrox club trailing leaders Celtic by 15 points.
An irate away support made their feelings known at full-time, booing Clement and his players from the Dens Park pitch, while the Rangers Supporters Association later called for the Belgian to be sacked.
Clement claimed he has support of the Rangers board ‘200 per cent’, but addressed the frustration of fans when he said: ‘Yes, of course they are unhappy. We are also unhappy, all of us are unhappy, to lose these three points.
‘Supporters are always behind us when we are good, when we play good games. So today it was not a good game. So I understand that they are unhappy about that.’
A Dundee side missing ten first-team players took the lead through Oluwaseun Adewumi after six minutes.
Clement looks increasingly desperate as his team drop more points on the road
Propper and Cerny look crestfallen after the 1-1 draw with Dundee at Dens Park
Dundee’s Adewumi, above left, gave his team the lead after just six minutes
The home team felt they should have had a penalty before Rangers broke away to level through Vaclav Cerny with their first shot on target in the 34th minute.
Despite Mohamed Diomande hitting the bar in the final minutes, a poor display piled the pressure back on Clement after the respite offered by the recent 3-0 win over Celtic.
Insisting he can get fans back onside, Clement added: ‘I know these supporters. It’s about us showing the quality on the pitch and then they are directly behind the team, always. So it’s our task to do that as fast as possible. That starts on Sunday, to show quality again and on both sides of the game. Not only offensively, also defensively.
‘Today, defensively, it was better compared with the last away games. In that way, a positive. Defender Clinton Nsiala played his first game for Rangers, a positive point.
‘But at the end, it’s about results, of course. A lot of points spilled over the last two or three weeks.’
Asked if he still has the support of the Rangers board, Clement replied: ‘Yes, 200 per cent. We have everyday talks about everything, about January, about next season, about everything.’
New chief executive Patrick Stewart is due to answer questions on the club’s transfer strategy and Clement’s status in the coming days.
Last night, however, the Rangers Supporters Association released a statement saying: ‘The RSA calls on the club to take decisive action and relieve the current manager of his duties. We understand the implications of making this change. Doing nothing is not an option and will only further damage this club in the longer term.
Cerny scores for Rangers but the Ibrox club could not add to his equaliser
Clement can barely bring himself to watch as Rangers fail to win again on their travels
The manager was jeered by fans and cut a grim figure as he walked off at the end
‘This is a time for real leadership from our new chairman and chief executive. Perhaps also some of our more long-standing board members/investors also reflect on their role in relation to the club’s current position on and off the park.’
Dundee manager Tony Docherty expressed pride in his team’s performance – and believed they should have had a penalty to potentially make it 2-0 before Rangers broke away to equalise through Cerny.
Debutant Clinton Nsiala appeared to stumble on to the foot of Dens striker Simon Murray in the area, but VAR Greg Aitken backed the decision of referee Calum Scott not to penalise.
‘I think it was a penalty,’ said Docherty. ‘The defender was really clumsy going in on Simon Murray. The fourth official told me they were checking it.
‘I was surprised. I thought they should have taken a bit more time over it.
‘We lost our concentration a bit after that for the Rangers goal, but it was an outstanding performance from my team.
‘The mentality, the resilience and spirit to put in that level of performance when we’re so threadbare in terms of resources … the players deserve huge credit.’
