The Premiership race is a reflection of Monaco’s last chapter, but the historical lesson of Philippe Clement Rangers has not been learned.
Philippe Clement may feel as though history is repeating itself with Rangers’ faltering performance; as manager of Monaco, he had a similar outcome.
For the Light Blues, who were expected to lead Celtic by two points heading into the last round, it has been a forgettable two weeks as they are now three points behind. This is because they lost badly to Ross County 3-2 in Dingwall on Sunday and were unable to bounce back with further lost points in a draw with Dundee at Dens Park. After defeating Kilmarnock at Rugby Park at the end of February to take a two-point lead over Brendan Rodgers’ champions at the Scottish Premiership summit, they have only triumphed once in their last five league games, against Hibs at Ibrox.
They have drawn with Tony Docherty’s Dark Blues on Tayside, Celtic at Ibrox, and Motherwell at home. They have also lost away to the Staggies. But given his time at Monaco, Clement is accustomed to late-season disasters. His team moved up to third position in Ligue 1 and qualified for the third round of the Champions League after defeating Lorient 3-1 in April.But in their final seven league games of that season, they would lose five and win just one. Clement’s team only secured a draw against Lille at home and one victory against Angers. They suffered defeats to Lens, Montpellier, and Toulouse in their final three games of the season.
Unfortunately for Clement, it resulted in Monaco dropping to sixth place in the league and their complete exclusion from European football. A fate that would finally lose the Belgian his job following a home loss to Toulouse in the season’s last game. Just two days later, Paul Mitchell, the sports director, announced his dismissal.
Making this choice is challenging because Philippe has always performed with professionalism and given his all. I would want to congratulate him on behalf of the club for all of his work.”