Rangers have sacked Philippe Clement as their manager.
The Scottish side have parted ways with the 50-year-old with a 2-0 defeat to St Mirren at Ibrox leaving them 13 points adrift of Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic.
GettyClement has been relieved of his duties after just 16 months in the job[/caption]
Rangers’ defeat to St Mirren was their first since 1991, with Gers experiencing a number of other setbacks this season.
Their Scottish Cup hopes were ended by Championship side Queen’s Park and lost the League Cup final to Celtic – the Europa League remains their only chance of silverware this season.
The decision to dismiss the Belgian boss comes just seven months after he was given a one-year contract extension and only weeks after appointing his new assistant, Issame Charai.
A club statement read: “Rangers Football Club can confirm it has tonight parted company with men’s first-team manager, Philippe Clement.
“The club would like to put on record their sincere thanks to Philippe for his hard work and dedication during his spell in charge.
“A further update from the club will follow in due course.”
Last month, Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart publicly backed Clement, despite mounting pressure from fans.
The former Manchester United executive, who joined the Ibrox boardroom in December, admitted sacking the manager would have been ‘the easy decision’ in response to fan frustration.
Stewart argued that his experience at Old Trafford showed that frequent managerial changes are ineffective.
However, he acknowledged that Clement needed to deliver better results, offering no ‘cast-iron guarantees’ over his future.
Despite Stewart reaffirming his support for Clement following the Scottish Cup exit, the continued poor form had left the club with no choice.
Stewart will now oversee the search for Rangers’ fifth permanent manager since November 2021.
Clement has been at the side since 2023 after spells at Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco.
During his time at Rangers, the side won the Scottish League Cup once, which came last season.
Former manager Steven Gerrard has been linked with the role but talkSPORT understands he would be unlikely to take it before April due to potential tax issues in Saudi Arabia.
Despite difficult spells in charge of Aston Villa and Saudi Arabian club Al Ettifaq, Gerrard is revered by Rangers fans following his three-year spell at the helm in Glasgow.
The highlight saw Rangers claim the Scottish Premiership title in the 2020/21 season, preventing rivals Celtic from achieving an unprecedented ten-in-a-row in the process.
Rangers next face Kilmarnock and Motherwell in the league before they take on Turkish side Fenerbahce in the Europa League.