Bungling Philippe Clement faces Rangers dead rubber and decisions have left his credibility trashed – Keith Jackson

It seems reasonable to assume Patrick Stewart will have had a very clear vision for what he wants the future for Rangers to look like.

Given his reputation as an operator of serious calibre, it stands to reason Stewart will have had it all mapped out inside his mind’s eye ever since he first agreed to take on the position of the club’s chief executive. But now that he’s getting his feet under the table – and seeing things from the inside – that whole picture for progression might well seem a great deal more blurred and fuzzy around the edges than it originally was.

Problem No.1 is right in front of the new man’s nose. He has a manager who has willingly allowed himself to become so blinded by sports science that he can’t see the damage he is doing to his team in the here and now as well as to his long term credentials. Philippe Clement had one job when Celtic slipped up and left a couple of precious league points behind at Tannadice a couple of weeks ago.

All the Belgian needed to focus on was getting in and out of Paisley and Fir Park with two post Christmas victories, just to ensure Thursday’s New Year visit from the champions was more than just another dead rubber derby. At that moment there was still a chance for Clement and his players to claw into the gap at the top of the table and provide an unexpected plot twist to a top flight campaign which had been hurtling along towards an inevitable end.

Three wins from three games over the festivities would have changed the whole complexion of Clement’s campaign, cut Celtic’s lead to just six points and set up a genuine head-to-head for the second half of the season. That was it. That was the remit. No more, no less.

But, quite astonishingly, Clement’s tendency to make the