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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

'It's been a hard watch' - Five Rangers legends give verdicts on Phillipe Clement

Rumours that Philippe Clement has left Rangers were quashed last night.

The Ibrox boss remains in place despite the recent dropped points at home to Dundee United on Saturday.

WhatsApp messages suggesting the Belgian has left his role have been spreading like wildfire but it's understood there is no change to his current position at the club.

It's thought interim chairman John Gilligan is currently out of the country on a trip arranged prior to being named as John Bennett's temporary replacement in the boardroom.

There is no suggestion a managerial change is going to be made at Ibrox.

However, it is clear to fans, rivals and former players alike that things are not working at Ibrox at the minute.

Here, five former Rangers players give their verdict on Philippe Clement...

Kris Boyd

Speaking exclusively to Gambling.com, he said: "Philippe Clement has spoken about progression, but I haven't seen it. You can understand it [their poor start in the league] if it's a new team, and there's a lot of bodies to fit in and get used to the way that Rangers play. But you only need to go back a few weeks ago to the Aberdeen game and eight of that starting 11 were there last year as well. So he's saying that it's a new team, I don't think it is. There's some new bodies in it.

"He keeps speaking about a young team, I don't really see that either. There seems to have been a lot of excuses [from Philippe Clement]. At the end of the day, you need to get a team on the pitch that’s capable of winning games of football.

"In Europe, so far Rangers have been a different story. They seem to get themselves up for it and have had some decent performances and results, especially away from home. It’s worrying that they can do it in Europe, considering that Rangers have lost at Aberdeen, Celtic and Kilmarnock - all away from home. But yet are still undefeated on the road in Europe. So that would be a worry. And you would ask, ‘why is that the case?’."

Barry Ferguson

"Rangers brought a lot of players in, and it takes a bit of time for them to settle. But now, it’s three months into the season. We need to start to see them click and run over the top of teams. Unfortunately, that's not happened.

"There's been some good performances, but also some below-par performances. So the fans are expecting to see more."


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Jermaine Defoe

"If you speak to any Rangers fan or ex-players, and if we’re being totally honest, it’s been hard watching it.

"We won the league when I had the player-coach role, and then after I left the boys came so close to winning the Europa League. I looked at it and thought they would kick on the next season, if they kept the core of good young players and experience, and possibly add a few more.

"But it’s actually gone the other way, and it has been tough to watch, because I try and watch every game. I go to Glasgow quite a bit, and speak to some of the boys.

"I feel like it’s obvious that something needs to change. The players need to try and find their form. The players need to find some sort of consistency.

"There are games up there that people expect them to win, and you can slip-up if you don’t approach with the right frame of mind, and that’s what happened last season. You look at the points that Rangers dropped last season, and they're games that you would expect them to win convincingly to be honest."

Nacho Novo

"I hope so [if Philippe Clement can turn Rangers’ season around]. It's very tough. At the moment he's the manager and we need to support him. Hopefully he's going to change something.

"If he leaves, then who are they going to bring? That’s another question. It needs to be the right person. At the moment he's the club’s manager and we need to respect that. Hopefully, something will change."

Jon Daly

"The club has obviously backed him [Philippe Clement]. He signed a new deal there recently. As a manager it takes time, and I think he's certainly shown that he has a certain calibre and level of quality.

"I've no doubts that he'll get the team back playing the way everybody wants to see them playing, and close the gap on the teams that are above them."

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