It may very well be too late to change anything but Philippe Clement must prepare himself and this team for a period of football that will go a long way to deciding his future at Rangers.

That next chapter in his story may be written in the eyes of some. We have all seen the 'Clement out' profile pictures and the constant comments whenever the club says anything on social media. For those people, this will never change. While that is understandable, all hope is not lost yet, even if it’s hugely unlikely. 

The football is bland, confidence is low, there is no pace and there is no excitement as we witness a Rangers team that has become almost boring to watch. Rangers have scored just 16 league goals, six of them coming in one match, while key attacking metrics are on the slump. In Europe, Rangers excel perhaps beyond expectations, with seven strong points grabbed in the Europa League.

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Rangers performed well in Olympiacos after good showings and results in Malmo and at home to Bucharest. Why is it so different in Europe? It wouldn’t be unfair to say Rangers lack physicality and pace against low blocks and strong defenders. When Cement's side are expected to dominate and take control of games they almost seem to struggle.

This is why it feels like every 90 minutes is so close right now. Rangers don’t create enough chances, they don’t pressurise teams and this game plan is set up to transition quickly into attack with pace, which they don’t have. 

So what does Clement do? Well, he needs to find a way for Rangers to create chances and dominate the opposition, he needs his players to find a ruthless streak and put together a run of victories (with Dundee Utd, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock and Ross County non-negotiable must-wins) that will take him to the cup final weekend. That meeting with Celtic at Hampden may just make up everyone’s mind. 

Europa games with Nice and Spurs are almost free hits in a way, but poor performances will only serve to further solidify the opinions of those who are stubbornly convinced this will never change or get better. 

In this two-week break Clement must get players fit who can help that happen, he must make Rangers interesting to watch again and energise the support. The current status quo isn’t good enough in the Scottish Premiership and Rangers should not be sitting nine behind at this stage.

The cup final could be the last chance saloon for Clement. Lose to Celtic again and there is no way the wider support will continue to believe in him. Win it and people will relax slightly.

For me the writing is on the wall but logically Clement may have one more shot at it. If that shot comes and Rangers fall short, the new chief executive officer and chairman will be in place and one of their first duties may just be to fire a manager who will have no more credit left in the bank.

That’s a scenario that this board must plan for rather than letting it creep up on us, as it did with several other key positions at the club that still remain dormant.

The man we all thought had a magic wand on his arrival must start getting results and performances before it becomes too late. To do that almost everything has to change. Clement needs to find that magic touch, and quickly, otherwise Rangers face a third-place finish and another hunt for a successor and a new leader at Ibrox as the club strikes deja vu once more.

Even if you are unsure or determined that change is needed, the return from international duty and imminent change in the boardroom will decide everything once and for all.

Change the results and performances or Philippe Clement will end up the same way as his predecessors.