It’s not cluelessness which will get Clement sacked. It’s his arrogance.

Last night, I wrote a piece on why Celtic needn’t lose sleep over the goal-scoring records of either Kyogo or Adam Idah. Both players are solid contributors, and concerns over missed chances don’t overshadow their overall impact. Only last week, I also tackled the misguided comparisons some have been making between Dessers and our Japanese striker. Now, as it turns out, the Ibrox boss himself has jumped into the fray.

In his post-match comments on Sunday, he suggested that certain strikers in Scotland get a free pass for missing chances or having lower goal tallies compared to his own forward. It doesn’t take much guessing to see he was likely targeting Kyogo with that statement, though maybe he had Lawrence Shankland in mind. It’s an open secret that Clement isn’t interested in signing Shankland, despite the backing he has among the Ibrox faithful.

As I argued in my piece on Dessers and Kyogo, it’s disingenuous for Clement, or anyone else, to focus on our players when it’s his own fans who are Dessers’ harshest critics. A prominent Ibrox fan podcast recently suggested that while Dessers earned them a point in Greece, he was equally responsible for them missing out on all three. It’s tough to argue with someone who’s already decided the player is more hindrance than help.

This isn’t just about Dessers, though.

It’s about Clement’s tendency to deflect, to blame others rather than looking at the root issues. The criticism he’s facing isn’t the cause of their problems—it’s a symptom. And I don’t think there’s another manager in the league who handles criticism as poorly as he does.

This is a familiar pattern with the club from Ibrox.

Time and again, they appoint managers who project an aura of arrogance. It’s almost as if that’s part of the job description. But even among an impressive roster of egotists, I can’t recall anyone who’s struggled this much with media pressure. Clement doesn’t discriminate in his prickliness; it doesn’t matter if the questions are from mainstream journalists or fan media from his own camp. Watching him snap back at supporters—fans who pay for season tickets and keep the lights on—tells you all you need to know about his attitude.

And who deserves to ask questions more than these fans?

They’re the ones investing financially and emotionally in the club, yet Clement seems to think they have no right to challenge him. His treatment of Tavernier, which I covered the other day, speaks volumes. This man struggles with managing his players effectively, let alone handling the inevitable scrutiny that comes with the job.

Then there’s the constant deflection, the way he skates around every issue. For those of us outside their fanbase, it’s infuriating to see him evade accountability while the press lets him get away with it. Clement’s attempt to shield his player by suggesting others avoid criticism is a thinly veiled attempt to imply some agenda against his club—an assertion that’s laughable at best.

Clement clearly doesn’t understand the nature of his relationship with the Scottish sports press. These aren’t his allies. They’ve never been his allies. It’s a partnership of convenience, one that lasts only as long as he looks like a winner. If the perception of him falters, the knives come out. And as a Celtic fan, I confess there’s a certain satisfaction in watching that unfold.

He isn’t doing himself any favours, and his supporters see through it as well as the press does. For all their flaws, I’ll give credit where it’s due: the Ibrox fans are ruthless in their assessment. They won’t hesitate to discard him when the time comes.

And when that day arrives, do you know what he’ll do? He’ll shift the blame elsewhere. He’ll bring up Celtic, he’ll bemoan the financial gap. What he won’t acknowledge is the disparity in resources between his team and the other clubs that are starting to find results against them. That gap, more than anything else, is why he’ll eventually be shown the door.