Philippe Clement has passed the point of no return at Rangers as he reaches the dogs and caravan stage. Chris Sutton

You have to wonder how terrible things have to become before someone, anyone, at Ibrox makes a serious choice.

One of the great problems at the Rangers right now is whether they can afford to get rid of Philippe Clement.

However, this is not the correct perspective. The real question is: can they afford to keep him in charge? The Ibrox club’s catastrophic financial results dominated the news for a day before events on the Pittodrie ground eclipsed them. And it appears that Rangers’ relationship with their boss has reached its limit.

Look, no one likes watching someone lose their job. But you have to question how terrible things have to become before someone at Ibrox makes a serious choice. We keep hearing Clement and his players insist they can still contend for the championship. Right now, it’s difficult to imagine them even vying for second. The club is in poor physical condition right now, with no permanent chairman, chief executive, or director of football.

There is no money either. However, these are no excuses for what Clement and his team are serving up. I honestly have some sympathy for the Rangers’ board. They keep incurring losses, but it’s their own money they’re squandering, and they are willing to keep shovelling it in.

However, there has been a great deal of waste and no advancement. They deserve better, and so do Rangers supporters. Look at where they were a year ago. There was an initial bounce under Clement, but they eventually ran out of steam, and now what?

They have Belgian Beale in command. I can’t believe how off the rails the manager has gotten. After a few months, there were encouraging indicators. He won an award and made a lot of sense. After Michael Beale’s nonsense, they appeared to have a responsible, serious operator in command.

They now have a Belgian waffler who is spouting the kind of gibberish that Pedro Caixinha came out with. The warning signs were there last year with his ‘moral victory’ against Celtic and it’s got worse and worse.

There was the ‘biggest win in four years’ after beating the mighty Ross County. The shots on goal trophy after getting thumped by Celtic. The hurling the boards at Hampden to celebrate after squeezing past St Johnstone. The can-can in the Ibrox press room, the constant promise of jam tomorrow. His post match interview on Sky the other night was the final straw.

So, what does Clement do? He hooks him off. It was simply strange. It’s been the same all season, with players playing out of place, bombing out of the squad, and then being brought back in and asked to bail them out. He signs Robin Propper to provide leadership and experience, but he does not appear to be up to speed with the Scottish game. Leon Balogun appears to be the best centre back at the club, despite the fact that he is approaching 50.

James Tavernier appears unhappy, and Cyriel Dessers, who lacks composure, receives no assistance. Mohamed Diomande should be dominating games for more over £4 million, but I’m still not sure what he brings. Connor Barron is a fine young player, but he should focus on the present at a team like Rangers.

I understand they are attempting to reduce the salary bill, but it appears absurd to fire experienced players like John Lundstram and Connor Goldson for peanuts and then spend money on replacements who are nowhere near the same level.

That is not saving money. It’s a fake economy, if anything. Despite all of the financial issues, it still comes down to the manager working better with what he has, which remains a big wage budget.

There doesn’t appear to be a consistent thought process or pattern to their play or the larger picture. It is fine to ask people to preserve the faith, but they must see some evidence of progress.

There are none at Rangers. A record of two wins in their previous ten away games is terrible, and while the Malmo victory was respectable, when was the last time they won a major domestic game? What happened in the League Cup Final over a year ago? It is not good enough.

When

I first came to Scotland, as a Celtic player I didn’t like Rangers.