Philippe Clement to meet top Rangers candidate for director of football job, Ibrox board can’t be trusted
Philippe Clement will meet with the top candidate to become Rangers director of football to ensure they share “ideals”, according to Gary Keown.
Writing for the Scottish Mail on Sunday (22 October, pg 93), Keown praised Chairman John Bennett and CEO James Bisgrove for their efforts since April but noted the need for improvements on the pitch.
Keown claims that, amid previous poor decisions from the club, Clement will have to remain “assertive” in his desires for transfers.
Keown wrote: “It is not just the players they will have to be ruthless with. It’s the board as well. Chairman John Bennett and CEO Bisgrove have made improvements in some areas since taking control in April, but there are still grave doubts over the way Rangers are being run from a footballing perspective.
“Clement is going to have a say in the impending appointment of a director of football. He will meet the leading candidate to make sure they share a set of ideals. However, the Belgian will have to be particularly assertive in the way Rangers develop – because recent affairs suggest those on the Directors’ Box cannot be trusted to call the shots themselves.”
Changes needed
While Clement is yet to establish himself at Ibrox, his emphatic 4-0 debut victory over Hibernian on Saturday (21 October) went a long way in bringing hope back to the club.
It is tough to determine who called the final shots on this summer’s transfers, but they have yet to justify their price tags in Rangers blue. Future transfer policy needs to be better, and Clement will want to have his say so he can implement his style.
Rangers remain on the lookout for a new director of football, but reports of the Gers approaching Brighton’s Sam Jewell, per Fabrizio Romano (18 October), show that they remain active.
Keown called out the Ibrox board directly as being unable to succeed in the transfer market, but those with the money will want their seat at the table and they will need to be very convinced by Clement to sanction expensive signings.
Something needs to be changed upstairs, but fear is slowly turning into optimism.
In other Rangers news, an Ibrox star may be headed for a tempting January exit, but Clement could face backlash.