Philippe Clement admits that abuse from Rangers supporters hurts and says he was “devastated” by the team’s defeat to Queen’s Park but insists he remains fully committed to fighting for the club.
The manager has been under increasing pressure this week following the Scottish Cup exit at the hands of the Championship side at Ibrox.
A video surfaced online showing one fan targeting him with personal abuse when he was leaving the stadium following the cup exit on Sunday.
Clement cited Stuart Kettlewell’s exit from Motherwell as an example of how such intense criticism can affect managers.
However, the Belgian is now prepared to put himself back in the firing line and is determined to bring success to the club as they look to react to the weekend defeat in a positive manner by getting back to winning ways against Hearts.
He also still believes that he can get the fans back on side with a run of good results starting with Tynecastle on Sunday.
Speaking to the media on Friday, he said: “It’s been a long week, after a defeat like that you want a game as fast as possible to react and do the right things.
“We need to react after an unacceptable defeat. It is about picking up the team again and correcting the mistakes we made.
“I spoke with Patrick (Stewart) after the game as I do after every game.
“Not one manager in the world has guarantees, maybe Guardiola at Man City after all the success he had during a long spell there.
“So, that is part of football, we spoke about Sunday’s result.
“It was a big blow to get that result. It is unacceptable, we are all devastated and sick about that but now we need to react in a positive way.
“Abuse from fans hurts, of course. What I like most about this job is to achieve things with people all together. We have had some amazing moments of synergy with the fans and amazing evenings at Ibrox, big European games, winning a trophy together, so those are all good moments.
“Sunday was clearly a bad moment.
“I saw the video (of the abuse), I didn’t know at the time that someone was recording a video, and someone was shouting at me. But there were also children there asking for autographs, so for them I stopped.
“I understand the frustrations of people, it’s difficult for me to say where the line is (regarding abuse) because it was something personal.
“We had a few weeks ago a manager (Stuart Kettlewell) thinking a line was crossed and for that reason he stopped.
“But I am still here and I want to fight for this club, I want to get the results that we had in the weeks before and to continue developing this team and making it better.
“We don’t want to have any more results like Queen’s Park again.
“I know how great this place can be if you have success so I have hunger and I desire to have all of that.
“My determination, day and night, is to make this story better and get that consistency over longer periods and have good performances every three days, because that is what the fans expect.
“I am still excited by this squad, how it can evolve and how good these players can be, because I see a lot of potential in that.
“But it’s about getting the right results just now, and I know that, I have had some great moments with these fans, I know they are not happy right now about this season and about going out of the cup but I want them to know that I am going to do everything I can and everything in my ability to make things better.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
