Paul Le Guen's predicament in the Parc des Princes has evoked little sympathy from Rangers supporters, and even employees, who continue to wince at the very mention of the club's shortest-serving but arguably most fascinating manager.

Some have revelled in the ongoing demise of Paris Saint-Germain and the apparent fallibility of a manager famously predicted by Sir David Murray to provide a moonbeam of success to Rangers when he replaced Alex McLeish.

The similarities between his traumatic experiences in Govan and his less-than-heroic return to Paris were recently enhanced by the time-honoured vote of confidence from PSG's beleaguered president, Alain Cayzac, but parallels were drawn long before he was compelled to defend the head coach from implication in the club's wider ills.

Having arrived in time to steer PSG away from relegation, Le Guen wasted little time in making the kind of bold but bamboozling decisions that left him a lame duck at Ibrox. Just as Barry Ferguson was jettisoned during the climactic calamities of his reign, Le Guen took it upon himself to banish the seemingly untouchable poacher, Pauleta, from his team.

It was a typical act from a manager uninterested in populism. What followed was a predictable outcry for the return of PSG's ageing talisman in their hour of need. Crucially, one observer of Le Guen's fortunes insisted Pauleta "does not have the same aura as Ferguson has in Scotland".

Just as Le Guen attempted to found Rangers' future on the youthful inexperience of Karl Svensson, Jeremy Clement and Filip Sebo, his summer transfer activity was not the pursuit of gritty veterans to return PSG to Ligue 1 prominence.

Instead, Gregory Bourilloun, Didier Digard, Apoula Edel and Ceara - all relatively unknown and untried rookies in their early 20s - were scouted with potential in mind. The results have been ominous and, as far as Le Guen is concerned, unfathomable. PSG have yet to win a single league match at home, with the best away record in Ligue 1 not only adding to the confusion but keeping the popular former player in employment.

This is not a simple case of Le Guen failing again, despite sniffy suggestions to that effect this side of the Channel. The 41m sale of PSG by Canal+ to a consortium of American investment companies in 2006 has yielded little in the way of transfer funds for team strengthening; a particular source of frustration to Le Guen as he finds himself saddled by high-earning players past their best.

Central to PSG's financial plight is the brinkmanship of Olympique Lyonnais, ironically with whom Le Guen's reputation as one of Europe's most revered coaches was established. Jean-Michel Aulas, the president, has long toyed with Lyon's rivals in order to inflict financial damage. One recent example has proven costly: Lyon expressed interest in Pauleta during contract renegotiations with PSG even though they had no interest in the player.

The end result was PSG appeasing their supporters by making the 33-year-old reportedly the highest-paid player in Ligue 1. A similar scenario unfolded when Clement became available, Lyon ensuring PSG would pay a premium by entering the bidding, fully aware he had no intention of returning to the Stade Gerland.

Predictably, the reserved Le Guen has withdrawn himself from the media spotlight and despite Cayzac's recent public show of support, the president's speech was perceived more as an attempt to protect his own position than deflect criticism from Le Guen. For all PSG's troubles - they currently languish in 16th place in Ligue 1 - the manager's popularity is undiminished.

The owners and Cayzac have borne the brunt while the fans have questioned the lack of spirit shown by senior players, with the exception of Pauleta. Pierre Frau has been sold to Lille during this window, while Marcelo Gallardo, the Argentine midfielder signed in January, is also expected to be moved on after a disastrous spell.

How Le Guen rebuilds will determine his longevity at the Parc des Princes but those closest to him reject the notion that his reputation would have been better protected had he not left one crisis for another a year ago. For the sake of his backroom team as much as himself, Le Guen was keen to return to work to erase the bad memories of Rangers. It was Lionel Letizi, the former PSG and Rangers goalkeeper, who told all and sundry at East End Park that Le Guen would be headhunted if PSG lost on the same day that Ian Durrant presided over Rangers' 3-2 defeat to Dunfermline in the Tennent's Scottish Cup.

Letizi was right and Le Guen has rarely been away from the coalface since. Results aside, he has expedited the construction of a training complex and has received more sympathy than brickbats despite his reclusive tendencies towards the media.

Failure to improve the club's position between now and the end of the January transfer window will exhaust that goodwill. Admirably, despite the painful experiences at Rangers and PSG, Le Guen has not lost his single-mindedness or his indignant streak.