Martin O’Neill shares two-word piece of advice for Philippe Clement after Rangers appointment
Martin O’Neill has shared a two-word message of advice for new Rangers manager Philippe Clement as he prepares to move forward at Ibrox.
The former Monaco boss was appointed as Michael Beale’s successor at Ibrox on Sunday (15 October) and is meeting the squad and taking charge of his first training session on Monday as the Light Blues prepare for their return to Scottish Premiership action.
Rangers’ poor start to the season has seen pressure mount on the squad to improve their performance levels and there is an expectation that Clement will improve both results and performances but O’Neill has offered a very simple piece of advice to the Belgian manager.
Speaking on talkSport’s White & Jordan on Monday (16 October, 11:45) he said: “Just win.
“Go and win some football matches, you have to overtake Celtic, really simple as that. That’s what you have to do and you need to do that relatively quickly and that’s the point. He’ll be given a couple of weeks rest bite and then you have to get on with it.
“Please do not come in and say I’ve got a three-year plan or I want to see the youth players being developed, but no you’ve got to win and you’ve got to start and win immediately.”
Great advice
You would have to imagine that Clement may well have been able to come up with that new piece of advice himself given his already lengthy career in the game and the fact that Beale was sacked because he wasn’t able to win enough matches during his time in Glasgow.
But really, what O’Neill said is exactly true, if Clement can get Rangers winning games and closer to Celtic quickly, he will be a success at Ibrox as that is what is required from every Light Blues manager and the latest appointment will be the same.
However, as a task, it has proven much easier said than done in the last few years, with the gap between the two Old Firm clubs growing throughout Beale’s tenure and currently Rangers are seven points adrift of Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Clement will get a couple of weeks where he may be able to dodge the criticism as he finds his feet in Scottish football, but time isn’t something that is regularly afforded to managers at Ibrox and after his initial few games, the Rangers supporters will be expected an upturn in the Light Blues’ fortunes.
Hopefully, Clement will take O’Neill’s advice on board and hit the ground running with his new side.
In other Rangers news, the board at Ibrox have already accepted they will have to fund more transfers even after their £13m investment this summer