PHILIPPE Clement has dismissed concerns about his ability to handle the off-field pressure of being Rangers manager and indicated that he had to deal with his children being targeted by rival team’s supporters during his time as a Club Brugge player.
Graeme Souness, who helped the Ibrox board to interview Clement earlier this month and is set to return to Govan in a consultancy role, had questioned how the Belgian would react to being involved in the Old Firm rivalry, one of the fiercest in world football.
However, the 49-year-old, whose men take on Hearts at home in a cinch Premiership match this afternoon, stressed he has no fears about being able to cope with the demands of his new job after a training session at Auchenhowie yesterday.
The former Beveren, Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco manager, who recalled how his family had been affected by his career when he was a player, is only focused on making his side successful once again and he wants his players to concentrate solely on football as well.
“I love football,” he said. “I’ve had more than 30 years in this world and I’ve been at clubs where there is a lot of rivalry. In Bruges, we had two teams in the same stadium so that was a special world also.
“In my life, when I was a Club Brugge player, something happened private-wise towards my children from a rival team. So I know about these situations and I gathered all my information before I came here.
“The media are happy with everything around it to make a lot of stories. But I want the players to concentrate on football because, in the end, it’s about what happens on the green pitch between the white lines. That has to be our focus.”
Meanwhile, Clement has vowed to fight to keep Jack Butland at Rangers amid persistent speculation that new Birmingham City manager Wayne Rooney is set to table a bid for his former England team mate in January.
When he was asked if he would reject any approaches for the player, Clement said: "Yeah, for sure, I am really happy with Jack. Not only on the pitch with his performances, but also outside the pitch and in the dressing room. In the way he works, the way he acts and his personality.
"Jack is going to be one of the key figures to build a team around for the next couple of years, yes. It's clear, when you have a s*** goalkeeper, you can't have success! That's very clear. That is the same for every manager.
"Of course you have to keep clean sheets. That's not down to the goalkeeper or defence, it's the whole team working together. But to have real success and to win trophies, you need to have somebody who gives the team a life in the difficult moments. Jack did that in the first half in Prague and he will do it again in the future.
Clement added: "There are a lot of comparisons between Jack and Mignolet. They are both calm and have a lot of confidence. They are also there in the big moments and for me, that is very important.
“To have a really great team, you need to find figures that are there in the difficult moments. That is very important when you are creating a winning team. You need these personalities."
