Philippe Clement has earned Rangers breathing space as Steven Gerrard talk quietens but bogey man is never far away

It's tricky doing your job when there’s someone leaning over your shoulder.

Unless you are one of those folk who go to car-keys-in-the-bowl parties, having that sense of looming pressure behind you is enough to give anyone performance anxiety. And when it comes to football managers, it doesn’t matter if the figure on your shoulder isn’t actually there.

Philippe Clement is slowly getting some breathing space but he had that hanging over him a few weeks ago. The Belgian was on his major wobble and it was the name of Steven Gerrard that kept popping up among fans. The fact the former gaffer is currently coining it in on the Saudi gravy train seemed to get lost in the wash.

But Clement was having to operate with folk pining for the good old Gerrard days while openly discussing how long he would last in the gig. The ship’s been steadied in the wake of the Celtic thumping and three wins have seen the pressure eased.

But the bogey man is never far away. Clement needs a win against Hibs and a decent performance when Lyon come calling in the Europa League. See off St Johnstone before the international break and Clement can sleep easy for a few weeks at least. He’ll be up against a guy though who will now have that gnawing feeling of having someone lurking behind him.

Even if – like Gerrard – it’s perception rather than reality. Ayr boss Scott Brown knocking back St Johnstone has got some folk putting two and two together and getting 142. He’s waiting for the Hibs gig was the calculation – and it could come up soon. That’s the last thing David Gray needs right now. And that particular narrative certainly won’t come from Brown either.

If St Johnstone was a tough decision to bow out, the Easter Road gig should be a no brainer. The