Michael Stewart agrees with what Philippe Clement said after Rangers win v Hibernian
Michael Stewart claims Philippe Clement was “spot on” with what he said about his Rangers players.
Speaking on BBC Sportscene (21 October), Stewart discussed the new managers’ desire for the players to be “at it” from the first whistle, something that was missing under Michael Beale.
Clement wowed Ibrox with a 4-0 win over Hibernian on his debut, with Stewart suggesting such performances will improve the mood at the club.
Stewart said: “Another thing that [Clement] said, which I thought was absolutely spot on, it starts with the first few minutes of the players being full at it.
“The fans, it doesn’t matter what club it is, they need to see something on the park. If they see something positive, then fans will get behind them.
“Especially for Rangers at the moment because they’ve been living off very little, we’ve not been seeing a lot.”
Boost
Clement has started life at Rangers in style, romping to a huge victory in perhaps the best performance from the Gers this season.
The fans would have afforded him some time to have his influence before criticism, but he has set expectations very high. Individual brilliance from Abdallah Sima and a poor display from Nick Montgomery’s side made the Belgain’s debut easier, but the difference was clear.
The minimum expectation of the new manager was to improve the nature of the football on the pitch. Beale suffered significant defeats but was mostly crawling to victories in unemphatic style. Clement seems to have given the players a fresh boost and motivation to play well.
The whole squad will want to prove to Clement that they are worthy of a starting spot, so all those who played yesterday were certainly trying to impress.
It is still very early in Clement’s tenure and hopefully he hasn’t set standards too high from the off, but many Rangers fans will have breathed a huge sigh of relief at full-time.
In other Rangers news, Hugh Keevins has shared his view on an Ibrox player after he dropped his “absolutely terrible” verdict on him.