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Kris Boyd: Rangers should have appointed Steve Clarke as new manager
Rangers should have looked into appointing Scotland manager Steve Clarke before hiring Philippe Clement, according to Kris Boyd.
The Gers handed the Belgian a four-year deal to replace Michael Beale as boss this week, as they look to get back on track following a poor start to the season which sees them seven points behind Celtic already.
But after the national team secured consecutive European Championships qualification this week, Boyd admitted to The Scottish Sun (17 October) that he would have taken Clarke at Ibrox “in a heartbeat” as the new boss at Rangers.
“If the national team wants to continue on this upward trajectory then my old gaffer needs to be at the helm,” he said.
“Reaching back-to-back Euros is a terrific achievement. Unfortunately, the incredible feat won’t go unnoticed by clubs all around Europe, and there will be a sizeable queue of them trying to tempt Clarke away with pots of gold.
“Club football has always been more lucrative for bosses than the international game. That is why the SFA needs to handcuff him with another bumper new deal.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him and his abilities as a coach.
“There were a few people touting him for the Rangers job, and I’d have had him at Ibrox in a heartbeat.”
Option
The national team is in a great place right now and Clarke is a big part of that, but we can’t pretend that we have seen exciting, attacking football despite positive results.
Much of the good things Scotland have done during this qualification process have come from a five-defender system which sees a solid base before anything with the hope of some individual magic in attack.
Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney and Nathan Patterson are all players who are established at a much higher level than what Rangers are playing at right now and that will also be boosting his credentials.
Whether Clement is the right man or not nobody knows at this point, but Clarke hardly pulled up any trees when he was at Motherwell or in England and most fans wouldn’t have been overly excited by his appointment here.
He could be an option in the future if Clement doesn’t work. But at this stage we all need to get behind the new boss and push this team back to where it belongs.
In other Rangers news, Spotted: Gers ace could be out for Clement debut as new image emerges.