Rangers must act quickly as Philippe Clement set for Saudi meeting this week for vacant manager’s role
Rangers have been dealt a blow in their bid to appoint a replacement for Michael Beale after a rival club emerged in the race for one candidate.
Philippe Clement has been reported to be one of the top candidates for the role at Ibrox, alongside the likes of Frank Lampard, Kevin Muscat and Derek McInnes.
But there is said to be interest from Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab in appointing the Belgian coach too, and Rangers are set to fall behind in the race to get his signature according to a report by FootMercato (5 October).
According to journalist Santi Aouna, Clement is set to jet to the Middle East for talks over the manager’s job there, with Al-Shabab hoping to reach an agreement with him to take over.
That leaves a small window for Rangers to get in touch with him and try to strike their own deal, should he be the man that is seen as the chosen one to take over from Beale.
St Mirren on Sunday is the last game for two weeks due to the international break and both James Bisgrove and John Bennett have to get the appointment right in that time – and ideally quickly.
Whoever comes in will need to have time with the squad to implement their style and get a look at the players to decide their team, so the sooner they’re in charge the better.
But the process can’t be rushed and we must be aware that things won’t happen overnight like that. The club need to talk to everyone and make a decision on who the best candidate is, rather than who the biggest name is.
Clement is an attractive option but that means he is to others too. This rival interest from Al-Shabab means that if the board are serious about bringing him in, they need to act quickly to not get beaten to it if he is the best man for the job.
In other Rangers news, timeline shared for end of hunt for new manager at Ibrox.