Peter Martin delivers ‘catastrophe’ verdict for Rangers boss Philippe Clement
Presenter Peter Martin believes it would not be a “catastrophe” nor a “deal-breaker” for Philippe Clement to win the Scottish League Cup with Rangers.
The Belgian was appointed as the successor as Rangers boss to Michael Beale on Sunday (15 October) and takes over a side seven points adrift of Celtic in the Premiership prior to facing Hibernian on Saturday (21 October).
Clement has a great chance to win some early silverware with Rangers in the semi-finals of the League Cup against Hearts on November 5, a competition that Celtic have already been eliminated from.
But Martin does not think failure to lift that trophy would put undue pressure on Clement.
Speaking on the PLZ Soccer Show (20 October), he said: “Say if he loses the cup, for me Rangers losing the League Cup – it could be another trophyless season – it’s not a deal-breaker on him.
“He’s just got to focus on the long-term view and totally block out the noise. I know Rangers fans will be hacked off if they didn’t win the League Cup but it’s not a catastrophe with a new manager in place who’s got a job to do and he’s got to stay focused and get on with it.”
Would be nice though…
A lot of pundits have spoken of the importance of Clement winning the League Cup to put down an early marker and win over a Rangers fanbase who have been left disgruntled by how things played out under Beale in the end.
But Martin makes a pretty fair point. On the list of priorities at the start of the season, let’s be honest, the League Cup would have been fourth on that list…and even now, with everything that has happened, it’s probably still fourth on that list.
Having said that, there is no doubt that one way to win over one of the most passionate fanbases in world football is to win trophies and to win plenty of them, and it is undeniable that there is a great chance in that competition to win silverware.
So, the truth is it’s probably a little from column A, a little from column B – it would not be a “catastrophe” if Rangers fail to win the League Cup, but if they did win it then it would get fans believing, players believing, and silence any doubters.
In other Rangers news, Clement has taken another big risk with his latest staff hire.