John Bennett means business at Ibrox as Philippe Clement veers towards long-term Rangers contract
Rangers chairman John Bennett is showing he means business as Phillippe Clement looks to be veering towards signing a long-term contract at Ibrox.
PLZ Soccer journalist Peter Martin reported on Thursday (12 October) that the Belgian has jumped above Kevin Muscat in the race to become the new Gers boss.
He added that sources have told him the Light Blues are considering offering the 49-year-old a four-year-deal as the chairman looks to make a serious appointment.
The journalist did, however, warn that “things can switch at the last minute”, with Muscat not yet completely out of the runnign to take over at Ibrox.
It is a real statement of intent by the Rangers chief to be considering offer the new manager a four-year-deal, though, as this is an appointment they simply have to get right.
He has been spearheading the talks with candidates in London this week alongside chief executive James Bisgrove before the pair present their choice to the club’s board.
The Gers have largely gone backwards under Michael Beale over the past year, so it will be a big job for the new man to come in and take over.
There will be pressure immediately, but that comes with the territory when taking over at a big club, where failure is simply not an option and quick results are a requirement.
They will have to come in and try and claw the Light Blues back into the SPFL title race, having fallen seven points behind Celtic at this early stage.
After Beale was handed free reign to bring in the signings he wanted over the summer, they will also have to work with the group of players already in the squad, as it likely to take a while for someone else to be granted as much money as the Englishman to overhaul the squad.
It looks as though Clement could now be the man charged with that task and he does have reasonably strong experience behind him to show that he could be a success at Ibrox.
The Belgian had a 51.3 per cent win rate in his previous job at Monaco after claiming 39 victories from 76 matches before being sacked in June following the club’s sixth-placed finish in Ligue 1 last season.
That came off the back of leading the French club to third place the previous season after joining midway through the campaign with the side sitting eighth in the table.
Before joining Monaco, he claimed three league titles in Belgium, having won the league with Genk in 2018-19 before going on to match that feat with Club Brugge in each of the next two campaigns.
While it may not have beeen in one of Europe’s top leagues, he does have experience of winning on multiple occasions as well as managing teams competiting in the Champions League.
Clement has clearly impressed during the interview stage after emerging as the favourite for the job and Bennett must have a lot of faith in him to turn the Light Blues’ fortunes around, with a long-term contract expected to be coming his way in the next few days.
In other Rangers news, a BBC host has shared a timeline update on when the Gers could appoint a new manager.