Philippe Clement makes Rangers demand, Ibrox concern shared
Philippe Clement is demanding Rangers make a long-term commitment to him before he accepts the manager’s job at Ibrox, according to a report by the Daily Record.
The newspaper posted online (13 October) that Clement is seeking a guarantee he will get enough time to make an impact in the Ibrox dugout.
The Belgian is said to have concerns over the short reigns of Giovani van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale, who were given just 12 and 10 months respectively before being sacked.
Clement only lasted 18 months in charge of Monaco in his previous role. He is also being linked with Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabi, though Alan Nixon wrote on Friday (13 October) that Rangers are hoping to appoint him over the weekend.
Need to stick with someone
Every new manager wants time.
The only issue is, in modern-day football, you don’t tend to get time. That is especially true at true at Rangers where the demand for instant success is so evident.
Both Van Bronckhorst and Beale quickly found out that when the going gets tough, you don’t get particularly wrong to find a fix.
No one is suggesting that either manager was particularly deserving of extra time to turn things around, but at some point the board do have to stick with a boss and give them time to close the gap on Old Firm rivals Celtic.
Only time will tell if Clement is the right coach to get that opportunity, and the Belgian faces the prospect of taking on a team that saw nine new players arrive during the summer.
It is unlikely Rangers will make that sort of commitment again any time soon, so you feel that – for now at least – it is more about improving the players he has rather than making drastic changes in January.
In other Rangers news, an official club partner has reacted to what Nicolas Raskin did in the last 24 hours.