Game of patience... Clement will be given time and money at Rangers but expectation of success still weighs heavily on the Ibrox manager
When Rangers handed Philippe Clement a new contract back in early August before a ball had been kicked in the new season, it was a decision which certainly raised a few eyebrows.
Having only arrived at Ibrox last October, Clement was already under contract until 2027. There was no immediate, pressing need for that deal to be extended any further at such an early juncture.
Nonetheless, Rangers added another year on to Clement’s deal, tying him down on enhanced terms until the summer of 2028.
It was a show of unity as much as anything else, a public display of affection, with Clement insisting that he had ‘fallen in love’ with the club.
After such a turbulent summer with the Ibrox construction fiasco and the lack of transfer funds available, it was probably music to the ears of most supporters.
It was also a major show of faith in a manager who revived the club’s fortunes after his arrival last year, before presiding over a collapse in last season’s title race.
Philippe Clement has had to ensure a difficult start to the season for Rangers
Interim chairman John Gilligan has publicly backed the Rangers manager this week
Rangers at least enjoyed a cup victory over Dundee at the weekend as they made the semis
When Rangers were knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers against a very limited Dynamo Kyiv side, and were then thrashed 3-0 by Celtic only a fortnight later, some fans began to question the wisdom of that decision.
It suddenly looked like a fairly rash, hasty move. Not that Clement would be of a mind to care too much. Armed with a shiny new contract, he’s as good as gold.
Now comes the public address from Rangers’ interim chairman John Gilligan, insisting the club remain fully supportive of Clement and that he will be given cash to spend in January.
Doubling down and going all-in on Clement, Rangers are determined to stand by their man moving forward in the new season.
Stating his belief that Rangers could yet catch Celtic and mount a title challenge, Gilligan said: ‘We have to take one step at a time but, ultimately, we have to win the league.
‘Yes, definitely (we can challenge Celtic) because of the manager and the players we’ve brought in.
‘The fact is we’re a strong team and, week to week, we’re playing games that we should win and we can win. Why not? You have to have that belief. If we start to doubt that and have that disbelief, then it will start to go through the whole place. We can’t have that.
‘I don’t think we need to say much (to fans), other than there are big issues, there are challenges. We’re chasing to get the league back.
‘Their support is never in doubt and they deserve the respect. I’m trying to be upfront and honest with them to say: a solid foundation, the manager is here, the trading model will come good and we’re so grateful for the fact their loyalty is never in doubt.’
As is always the case with these things, results will dictate everything else. If results improve both domestically and in Europe, support will grow for Clement.
However, if things head south, it will be only natural for the fans to question why the club were so quick to hand the Belgian a new deal. No show of support from Gilligan would change that.
An opening Europa League fixture away to Swedish champions Malmo on Thursday night already has the look of a tricky assignment. But it also offers Rangers the chance to change the narrative of what has been a difficult start to the new campaign.
After stepping in to replace John Bennett on an interim basis, Gilligan has spoken this week about how he plans to provide stability to Rangers.
Currently with no chairman and no chief executive, and with Dave King lobbing verbal hand grenades into the boardroom, these are testing times.
Asked about his relationship with Clement, Gilligan said: ‘George (Letham) and I met him last week and we had a terrific long chat and he brought us up to speed on everything.
‘He had a great relationship with John (Bennett) and I’m hoping I can pick up from that, but I have to stress that we will not interfere on the football side. Philippe’s the manager and he’s in charge of all aspects of football.
‘What we are here to do is support him and probably the most important thing is that we’re seen as spokespeople for the club because, when John was off for a couple of weeks, Philippe was being questioned constantly on aspects of the club that are not the manager’s responsibility, which was a wee bit unfair.
‘I’ll hopefully pick that up as much as I can. It’s been difficult for the manager and it would be silly to think otherwise. Putting my supporter’s hat on, the word "patience" is not something football supporters are very good at, but I would ask the fans to be patient.’
