PHILIPPE Clement has given a strong indication that he will keep Alex Rae on his Ibrox backroom team permanently by praising the former Rangers midfielder’s contribution during his time in charge to date.
Rae, the lifelong Rangers supporter who spent two seasons at his boyhood heroes towards the end of his playing days, was asked to assist caretaker Steven Davis by directors after Michael Beale was sacked.
Clement, who has brought in his countryman Stephan Van Der Heyden as his assistant, retained the services of the Scot and Northern Ireland great Davis after he was appointed because he is keen to have coaching staff who know the Glasgow club.
However, the former Beveren, Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco manager stressed that he would only make a decision on who he will keep on after working with them at Auchenhowie over a prolonged period of time.
The 49-year-old, though, has spoken in glowing terms about former Millwall, Sunderland and Wolves man Rae ahead of the cinch Premiership match against Hearts at Ibrox this afternoon and admitted that he values his new colleague’s strengths.
“We had good talks with the staff this week about what our expectations are in every role,” he said. “It’s starting to become more clear to me, the different profiles. They’re still on an interim basis right now and they know that.
“Alex is someone who knows the history of the club really well. That’s an important thing for me, to have people on the staff who know the club and the people within it.
“He’s also close with the players, he’s strong in that. He knows the dynamic in the dressing-room, which is also important for me. I need people to help in that way because I have to keep a certain distance. I can’t be there all the time.
“With all of my assistants, I have very open communication about everything, decisions, tactics. That’s the way we want to work. Alex is involved in that.”
Clement added: “Is it possible that he could stay on in the long-term? If it wasn’t possible, he wouldn’t be here any more. So, yeah, it’s just like with players.
“We need to find a really good mix of people. They all have good qualities, but we need the right mix to get the best out of the team. So we’ll make these evaluations in a few weeks. Not just two or three weeks, a little bit more than that.”
The Belgian, who won his first match in charge of Rangers against Hibernian in the Premiership last weekend and then oversaw a draw with Sparta Prague in a Europa League group game over in the Czech Republic in midweek, is still unsure whether Davis will continue to coach.
British football’s all-time record capped outfield player had been working his way back to full fitness from knee surgery when he was asked to step into the dugout by the Ibrox hierarchy.
The 140-times capped 38-year-old confessed after the European defeat to Aris Limassol in Cyprus that his rehabilitation had not gone entirely according to plan and he was unsure if he would be able to make a comeback.
"We have had two very good long talks already about everything,” said Clement. "I understand his situation. I have also been a player. I have been in that moment, having to make a decision. Do I continue or not? So that situation is not clear yet and we will see in the next couple of weeks how it evolves.
"But it's an interesting period for them too because it's stepping into a new story. There is a lot of motivation in all of the staff to do that and we will see what decisions are made. It's too early to make them just now.”
