It is that time of the season again when the Rangers find themselves with a new manager in place. This time around, it is Philippe Clement in the Ibrox hot seat after Michael Beale was shown the exit door by the club following a bad start to the campaign which sees them seven points adrift of Celtic already.
Clement has a mountain to climb without a doubt. Seven points is a big gap to overcome, even with the majority of the season still to be played.
At the same time, one would expect a new manager bounce at Ibrox following the arrival of Clement. It remains to be seen if he is able to produce long-term results and success, something that his predecessors failed to do.
The Ibrox job is never a long-term project. You either win or you find yourself leaving soon. Van Bronckhorst won a Scottish Cup and guided them to an unexpected Europa League final. Beale has one of the best win percentages in the Rangers’ history.
Celtic hero hands bad news to Clement
Martin O’Neill had a blunt message for the new Rangers manager. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, when asked what Clement needs to do while speaking to White & Jordan on talkSPORT (16/10/23 at 11:45 am), the Celtic hero said:
"“Just win some football matches.“You have to overtake Celtic, it’s as simple as that. That’s what you have to do.“You need to do that relatively quickly. That’s the point – none of this, please don’t come in and say ‘you have a three-year plan or I want to see the youth players developed’, which I think he might be able to do.“But, no, you have to win. And you win immediately.”"
There is no substitute for winning, at any club these days. We see the constant managerial revolving door in the Premiership. One disappointing run of form and head coaches are shown the exit door.
The margin for error is even smaller at clubs like Celtic and the Rangers. Clement will need to adjust to that quickly.
Of course, it is easier said than done. Celtic have completely dominated the Scottish game in recent years and the Rangers have very rarely managed to get one up on them.