New Rangers boss Philippe Clement keen to bring winning mentality back to Ibrox
The 49-year-old became the 19th permanent manager of the Govan club following the departure of Michael Beale at the start of the month.
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Your support makes all the difference.New Rangers boss Philippe Clement is determined to build a dressing room of winners at Ibrox but acknowledges that he is no football magician.
The 49-year-old became the 19th permanent manager of the Govan club following the departure of Michael Beale at the start of the month.
After playing at Genk and Club Brugge, Clement won the Belgian Pro League as a manager with both teams but he inherits a Light Blues side who are currently seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders and defending champions Celtic.
Speaking at Ibrox, Clement said: “I want to win everything. That’s the mentality when I step into a building, I want to give this mentality also towards the dressing room and create more and more winners in this dressing room.
“So we’re going to work really hard to get silverware as fast as possible and to make this story step by step, bigger and bigger.
“How fast it comes? You never know I don’t have this crystal ball.
“Also I’m not a magician that suddenly can totally change players. But I know if we can work a long time with players that we can make them better.”
Clement will give players a chance to impress before he considers changes in the January transfer window.
He said: “I’m also somebody who likes to see first, what is the potential that is there already.
“I’m not somebody who wants 10 new players every year and say, ‘OK, this one and this one is not good enough’.
“I’m somebody who likes to invest in people, who wants to find the key to get the best out of them.
“So we need to use the next weeks, months to do that in the best way.
“So all the players with me – maybe not with some fans, and that’s a little bit pity maybe – everybody starts with a white page.
“Everybody has the chances also until January to prove themselves, to show that they are really good players that they want to be on the pitch, that they want to make the difference for the club, that they want to give everything. And then we will see.”
Chief executive James Bisgrove’s next job will be to appoint a director of football.
He said: “Certainly in the next few weeks, if not months, we’re having live conversations at the moment.
“There are variables in that depending on the individuals that the board believes and the football board and Philippe feel has the best fit. But I believe it will be imminent.
“It’ll be a club board appointment that Phillipe will absolutely be part of that process and will meet whoever we bring in before we take that decision.
“And that person when they come in will add additional value, expertise and leadership to the recruitment function.
“We’ve currently got John Park as the chief scout at the top of that division.
“We’ve made some changes to the scouting function recently. We’ve modernised that in terms of some of the processes, additional emphasis on data and video analysis.
“And we’ve been I think, more strategic and focused on how we’ve set that up.
“Phillipe would have some strong views on that as well. But it’s a decision that the board will take in terms of the long-term football strategy and someone to complete that football board that’s already in existence to make sure we’ve got really robust processes around the decision-making that we take right across the football department.”
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