Kris Boyd explains why Rangers are in the same boat as Man Utd and the striking similarities between Clement & Ten Hag

THERE’S something to be admired about Brendan Rodgers’ stubborn refusal to tone down his tactics in European away games. Despite losing 7-1 in Dortmund, he insists his steadfast belief he can beat the best with Celtic does not make him a dreamer. PARodgers went toe-to-toe with Dortmund and quickly found out[/caption] SunSport columnist Boyd says he is ‘baffled’ by the Celtic boss in Europe ReutersBut he is less than impressed with Philippe Clement at Ibrox at the moment[/caption] In that way, he reminds me of his Parkhead predecessor, Ange Postecoglou, who simply refuses to take a more pragmatic approach in any game. But if parallels can be drawn between Brendan and Big Ange, I can also see similarities between Philippe Clement and Erik ten Hag. Rangers and Manchester United are two teams in the same boat right now. They win a game and suddenly they are on the way back. Then the next mishap is just around the corner. When Rangers won in Malmo nine days ago, it was lift-off. But they were outplayed in the second half by Hibs last Sunday. And simply outclassed by Lyon at Ibrox on Thursday night. Yes, Gers might beat St Johnstone on Sunday night and raise hopes during the two-week international break. But who would bet on them winning at Rugby Park, winning at Pittodrie, seeing off Steaua Bucharest, or winning the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Motherwell at Hampden? Maybe Nedim Bajrami or Tom Lawrence can find a spark of inspiration. But Gers never dominate or control games. And they were simply taken apart by Lyon in the Europa League. A bit like Ten Hag after United lost to Postecoglou’s Spurs and then snatched a late point against Porto, it’s excuse after excuse from Clement. I don’t like it. If you look below the bonnet at Gers, you ask which players have actually improved under the Belgian boss. He’s spent money, brought in his own players, but I don’t see where it’s all going. Just like Ten Hag, it looks like the inevitable is only a few months away. What was Clement doing trying to claim John Souttar’s handball wasn’t a penalty against Hibs? It’s as clear a penalty as you’ll see. It was incredible to try and put forward a case to say that’s not a spot-kick. He was even jumping around at his post-match press conference. My rule of thumb in these moments is, ‘Would Walter Smith do it?’.If the answer is ‘No’, then it’s not the right thing to do. There are too many excuses coming from Clement at the moment. And I reckon a lot of them are pre-empted. I don’t remember Giovanni van Bronckhorst moaning about things when Rangers were reaching a European final two and a half years ago. I just don’t see any progression — at Ibrox or Old Trafford — and it seems both clubs are simply delaying the inevitable. We’re nearly three months into the season and fans would struggle to name the strongest Gers team. That’s not a good situation.Mind you, Celtic’s 7-1 defeat in Dortmund was just as abysmal as Gers’ 4-1 home loss to Lyon. But the reality is that Celts will get away with the Borussia battering because they will probably do to Ross County what they did to St Johnstone last weekend. They have had enormous credit for their domestic dominance in recent years — under Rodgers (below right) and Ange (below left) — and deserve every word of it. But this Celtic team was being built up as being ready to do something in Europe and they suffered a real fall in Dortmund. Yes, they might still qualify for the next phase of the Champions League with home wins over Club Brugge and Young Boys. And maybe something against RB Leipzig at Parkhead. But it baffles me that Rodgers won’t change one little bit and is determined to do it his way, regardless of the outcome. He’s now presided over three of the four worst results in Celtic’s European history — seven-goal beatings by Barcelona, PSG and Dortmund. I speak to Celtic fans, and they tell me it’s not much fun forking out their hard-earned cash to watch a performance and result like that. I know we’re comparing different eras, but Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon advanced in Europe by finding a way to win or draw against the elite. I got to the last 16 of the Champions League with Rangers under Alex McLeish, but we were never gung-ho and never tried to take on the best at their own game. We drew with the Barca side of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Ronaldinho by working hard. Not trying to play flamboyant football. We beat a decent Lyon team on their own patch, too, although Karim Benzema and Co did get their own back at Ibrox. But we recovered from a three-goal home defeat by Lyon to reach a Euro final the same season. I don’t fancy a repeat from