Philippe Clement wants more Rangers exits after ‘perfect’ Friday news – BBC Sportscene pundit
Marvin Bartley believes Philippe Clement will have more power over who stays and who goes at Rangers after signing his new contract.
The Gers announced on Friday morning (11 August) that Clement has agreed a contract extension at Ibrox that runs through until 2028.
It is a further show of faith from the board in the Belgian, who was only appointed last season and still had three years to run on his existing deal.
Taking to X [2 August], BBC Sportscene pundit Bartley said: “This makes perfect sense from the club! Players now know it’s ‘Fit in or [expletive] off’ time!!!!”
Philippe Clement has full control at Rangers
This announcement from Rangers, which came completely out of the blue, is more to do with optics than anything else.
While Clement’s job was not under immediate doubt at this stage, a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign would have changed all that.
Indeed, Si Ferry this week suggested Clement would likely be contemplating his future given all the off-the-field issues [Open Goal, 1 August].
With one statement, though, all that talks has disappeared. There is next to no chance of Clement going anywhere any time soon.
That means players will know, as Bartley put it in his own words, they either knuckle down or find another club.
This is a category someone like Todd Cantwell fits into, with the playmaker having already made clear he wants to go.
Clement is Rangers’ man and he deserves praise for the impact he made upon taking over from Michael Beale last year.
Let’s just hope the positive vibe this contract announcement brings carries into the new season.
In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist has reacted to the latest transfer news coming out of Ibrox.
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