Clement reveals Rangers star could leave on free and admits he turned down chance to quit Ibrox himself

Clement reveals Rangers star could leave on free and admits he turned down chance to quit Ibrox himself

It’s hard not to feel sorry for Rangers manager Philippe Clement at times.

 

The Belgian has walked into a chaotic job at Ibrox, with boardroom and transfer incompetence hamstringing the club in the midst of a crucial rebuild.At the same time, Old Firm rivals Celtic are the picture of stability and have seen the financial gap swell following Rangers’ failure to reach the Champions League.

 

Rangers let slip their brief period of dominance in Scotland and since then have been scrambling to rebuild.

 

Steven Gerrard’s exit was initially softened by the arrival of Giovanni van Bronckhorst but a failure to move on Gerrard’s boys came back to bite.Michael Beale – signed having trained the majority of the squad as Gerrard’s assistant – was then entrusted with rebuilding the team. It did not go well.

 

With the club now on its fourth manager in three years, Rangers have committed to Philippe Clement who now has the unenviable task of mopping up the mess amid a surge of negativity at Ibr-, sorry, Hampden.

 

READ MORE: Philippe Clement in bleak transfer update to Rangers fansThe disastrous handling of player contracts between wages and letting them run down has been a huge source of frustration for the Rangers gaffer.

 

In little over 12 months, Rangers have seen previously influential players like Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield, Filip Helander, Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, John Lundstram, Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe and Jon McLaughlin walk out the door for nothing.

 

Whilst plenty of these were well past their sell-by date, Rangers failed to cash in when their stock was highest and the club now has to put up cash to replace them.

 

The Gers have also lost a hugely influential amount of experience from the dressing room.