Philippe Clement may have suffered unwelcome Rangers setback as former Genk colleague speaks out

Dimitri De Conde has ruled out reuniting with Philippe Clement at Rangers as the new director of football.

The 48-year-old delivered a league title working alongside Clement at Genk, but he intends to stay with the Belgian outfit.

In an interview in his homeland, as per the Daily Record [25 November], De Conde was asked directly why the Rangers job is of no interest.

"I'm loyal to Genk. I love the club and I'm a Limburger," he said. "I know the club, the management. We're a group of very ambitious comrades.

"That is rare in football. My ambition remains to make Genk the biggest club in Belgium."

De Conde's comments come on the back of the Daily Record suggesting last week that he was one of five candidates being eyed up by Rangers.

With the Belgian now firmly out of the running, it may well be that just four names remain on the Gers' shortlist.

Dougie Freedman, Richard Hughes Paul Mitchell and Carlos Bocanegra are said to be the other names in contention to succeed Ross Wilson.

The search for Wilson's successor has gone on for far too long now, and this is an unwelcome setback if De Conde was indeed in contention.

With the January transfer window around five weeks from opening, there is nobody overseeing transfer activity at Ibrox.

Chairman John Bennett recently hinted a new director could be in place before December, but that is looking increasingly unlikely.

Even if Rangers now need to go after a second-or-third-choice option, it needs to be done pronto.

The club deserve plenty of praise for biding their time in making a decision on Clement, who has proved to be the perfect man for the job.

That may also be true of this incoming director, whoever it may be, but the position quite simply cannot stay vacant for much longer.

In other Rangers news, Tam McManus has predicted a Clement first when the Gers face Aberdeen this weekend.