The Rangers board has broken its silence on the future of under-pressure manager Philippe Clement by giving its backing to the Belgian.

Despite mounting unrest among the fans at the on-field performances which left Rangers 15 points behind leaders Celtic going into this weekend’s fixtures, new chief executive Patrick Stewart says there are no plans to make changes in the dug-out.

The vote of confidence will not be what many of the increasingly frustrated supporters wanted to hear, however Stewart did insist results must improve.

He said: “We are backing Philippe at this time as a board. It’s about taking a deeper look at the issues, addressing those problems, and staying focused on building a stronger future for the club.

“Changing a manager isn’t a silver bullet solution. What I do need to do, and what the board are supporting me with, is uncovering the underlying issues and addressing those. Because there’s been several years where we’ve been underperforming, and there’s something deeper rooted here, and I agree with that.

“I think that’s what we need to do, we need to look beneath the surface. Managers and coaching staff will continue to come and go in the future, that’s understood. Again, that is football.

“I want to be clear, I’m not saying everything is fine. If I look at the away results, you know, the record is there, it’s been discussed, it’s not good, and it’s not what’s expected for Rangers.  So we are working with Philippe to address consistency issues, and I’m also not going to speculate on what happens if results don’t improve.

“I spent a lot of time with Philippe, we discussed the need, the imperative for results to improve. If results don’t improve, obviously I can’t give Philippe any cast iron guarantees. He and I have both been around football long enough to know that isn’t the case.

“Equally, I’m not going to get into how many games Philippe has to save his job, that’s not what we’re about. We’re about helping Philippe to identify why there is the inconsistency and let’s address that. And again, to be clear, sticking with Philippe isn’t about trying to avoid a tough decision.

“In fact, I think if anything, changing a manager would be the easy decision, because a lot of supporters are calling for that. I’m aware of that, I’ve seen the statements.  But I think that would be easy and I’m looking at this from a long-term perspective and thinking what’s in the best interests of the club.”

He added: “I’m putting the club first, not my own interests and whether this decision is going to be viewed as positive or negative.

“What I’m looking to do, again, this is a team effort, is build a solid foundation and a real long-term football plan for the club.  If we rush and react every time there’s some poor results, we’re in danger of just being back in the same place in a year’s time or 18 months’ time or however long.

“I’m really thinking about the club first. So, it is very much about making the right decisions for the long-term success of the club.”