By Alistair Aird
On 30 September 2023, it looked as if Rangers’ season had flatlined. A lifeless and limp performance at home against Aberdeen ended in a 3-1 defeat. We were just seven league games in, and already Michael Beale’s side had lost three times. They trailed a pretty poor Celtic side by seven points. A title race that had not really started looked to be over.
It was time to send for a defibrillator, and the one that Rangers opted for was Belgian. His name was Philippe Clement.
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Born in Antwerp on 22 March 1974, Clement had enjoyed a decent playing career, giving solid service to Beerschot, Genk, Coventry City, Club Brugge, and Germinal Beerschot. He also won thirty-eight caps for Belgium. After hanging up his boots in 2011, he coached the U21 team at Club Brugge, and after graduating to the first team coaching staff, he had a couple of games in interim charge of the first XI. One of those matches was a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United in the Europa League. The other was a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Anderlecht.
After serving as assistant manager to Juan Carlos Garrido and Michel Preud’homme, Clement left Brugge in May 2017 to become head coach at SK Beveren. He was in charge for 22 matches, winning nine of them and drawing four. His last match in charge was a 1-1 draw against KSC Lokeren on 16 December 2017.
Thereafter, he moved to Genk, leading them to the Croky Cup Final – in Belgium’s equivalent of the Scottish Cup, they lost 1-0 to Standard Liege – and his overall record was impressive, with 47 wins and only 15 defeats in the 82 matches he oversaw. Eighteen of those victories came in season 2018/19 when Clement led Genk to the Juliper Pro League title. It was only the fourth time in their history that Genk had won the national league title, and their first triumph for eight years.
Two further league titles followed when Clement returned to Brugge. He also led his team to the last 32 of the Europa League where they were eliminated by Manchester United. Clement then took over from Niko Kovac at AS Monaco in January 2022, but after chalking up 37 wins from 73 games, he was sacked in June 2023.
Despite those domestic successes in Belgium, I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed when Clement was appointed as the Rangers manager back in October. Sickened by what we were witnessing, I was looking for a Steven Gerrard-esque appointment, someone with that stature to galvanise the club, and breathe new life into it. Little did I know that the man who had me underwhelmed would do just that, and in so doing deliver a domestic trophy, qualification for the last 16 of the Europa League, and take us to the brink of returning to the top of the league table. And he would do that in just FOUR months.
With 14 wins from a possible 16, Clement’s league record only has two blemishes, the 1-1 draw at Pittodrie and the 2-1 defeat at Parkhead. And tonight, at Ibrox, he sent his team out to face a Ross County side that was mired in mediocrity. The three-goal winning margin required to supplant Celtic should apparently have been a formality.
Clement indicated in his pre-match presser that changes were inevitable in the midst of a glut of fixtures on three fronts. In his previous 24 matches in charge, he has called upon 29 players, but although he made six changes to the XI that started against Ayr United, there was a familiar look to his line up as he reverted to the team that started last Tuesday against Aberdeen.
Only James Tavernier has appeared in every game under Clement. Next up are Jack Butland, John Lundstram, and Todd Cantwell who have only failed to get minutes in one of the 25 games. Tavernier also leads the way for goals under the Belgian with 11. Cyriel Dessers was on nine before kick off. And our captain also has the most assists, with six. Those numbers would both be boosted by the time the match with County was over.
Clement’s arrival has revitalised so many of the squad. The inclusion of Cyriel Dessers for this match meant the Nigerian has made 21 appearances under Clement, claiming nine goals and four assists. Lampooned on numerous occasions in the early weeks of the season, Dessers has proven his critics wrong, and while his game still needs some refinement, he remains the man most likely to challenge Tavernier as our top goalscorer.
Clement has also placed his faith in youth – Ross McCausland, a product of our youth academy, has made 21 appearances under him – and seems to have solved the perennial problem we have had at left back by favouring Ridvan Yilmaz over Borna Barisic. And then there is what the Belgian has done to Todd Cantwell.
When we defeated Kilmarnock on 2 January, I wrote a piece that questioned where Cantwell’s loyalties lay. Was he playing for the team or was he playing for Todd? Since then, he has shown categorically that it is the former. Playing in his favourite number 10 role but tailored to what Clement wants, he is thriving. He has found form at precisely the right time, and including that Kilmarnock match, he has claimed four goals in his last five league games.
Clement therefore stood on the verge of leading Rangers to the top of the table for the first time since August 2022. And he was set to do so on the twelfth anniversary of the darkest day in the club’s history when a charlatan stood in front of the oak front doors at Ibrox and announced Rangers had plunged into the abyss of administration. On St Valentine’s Day, the day when we get all amorous, there was something rather romantic about that notion.
But Clement has been steadfast in his mantra of ‘one game at a time.’ He has stated that the only time we should be looking at the league table is after 38 games in May. For the ice cool Clement, this was just one more step. After this it would be 25 league games down, 13 to go, but for the fans, it was a little different. Their brilliant Belgian had paved an unlikely road to recovery, and they now craved the supremacy of top spot.
In addition to fusing together a fine footballing side, the arrival of Clement has stimulated a superb synergy between supporters and the players. Patience hasn’t always been a virtue among the Rangers supporters – although a lack of tolerance was understandable earlier this season – but it is more apparent now. They are united on this journey with their heroes, and that appears to be energising both parties.
There was smurry rain falling from the clouds in a jet-black sky above Ibrox. But that didn’t dampen anyone’s ardour. The teams emerged from their respective dressing rooms and came down the tunnel to be greeted with the customary raucous roar, one which reached a crescendo when referee Alan Muir tooted his whistle to signal the start of what we all hoped would be a special night on the south side of Glasgow.
Clement has adapted his ‘structure’ from time to time, but Rangers were set up along familiar lines in this one. In front of Butland were Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar and Ridvan. Lundstram, another stalwart performer under Clement, anchored the midfield alongside Lawrence, while McCausland, Cantwell and Matondo were charged with supplying the ammunition for Dessers.
Cantwell was at the heart of the early action. After four minutes, he tried to wriggle away from a couple of challenges but was brought down some 25 yards from goal. Although it seemed to be in Tavernier territory, the captain wastefully hit the wall.
But when the captain caressed the ball forward moments later, there would be a more successful outcome. And it would be another step along the road to redemption for Cyriel Dessers who showed great composure to lift the ball over George Wickens in the Ross County goal.
Rangers were rampant, and after eight minutes, Tavernier stung the palms of Wickens with a fierce drive from the edge of the box. The Clement effect was to the fore again, with confidence coursing through the team, and Dessers was desperately unlucky to strike the base of the post after he had manoeuvred himself into a shooting position.
In the meantime, Clement was positioned on the edge of his technical area. As his team were doing him and their supporters proud, he remained as cool, calm, and collected as he has from the get-go. But he must have taken a great sense of pride in watching what was unfolding; his reborn Rangers were relentless both in and out of possession.
Matondo twice went close to doubling Rangers’ lead, bending a shot wide of the far post then drawing a stunning stop from Wickens. Another who has found himself reinvigorated under Clement, the Welsh international was on the hunt for another goal to add to those he had netted recently against Livingston and Aberdeen.
As the clock reached 20 minutes, the stats illustrated how superior Rangers had been. They had peppered the Ross County goal with 10 shots, four of which were on target, with two of the other six blocked. They had also forced six corners. Passing accuracy was at 90% (118/131) and the beleaguered visitors had had to make 12 clearances. Jack Butland, clad top to toe in yellow, had touched the ball a mere four times. Dominant was an understatement.
Just after the midway point of the first half, Tavernier should have done better than blast a pass from McCausland into the Broomloan Stand, but you felt it was only a matter of time before the second goal arrived. This really was a joy to watch.
A lull in the match brough a clapping Clement to the edge of the technical area again. He was clearly cajoling his players, asking them to keep the momentum going. And he got the response too, with Lundstram and Lawrence hunting down the Ross County players in possession before forcing a turnover.
But out of nothing, County were level after 29 minutes. It was another sloppy goal to lose, with an unmarked Simon Murray sweeping the ball beyond a helpless Butland. Whilst there was no need to press the panic button, this wasn’t in the script, and regularly losing goals of this ilk is something that Clement must seek to address.
As you would expect, with parity restored, County resorted to time wasting at every opportunity. They were here to frustrate not entertain. Clement, hands thrust deep in his pockets, wasn’t slow in letting fourth official, Ross Hardie, know that he was less than enamoured.
After such a scintillating start, the game was petering out as half time approached. Rangers needed one of their big players to step up and take the game by the scruff of the neck. But passing that had been crisp and incisive until County scored was now ragged and loose. That was summed up when McCausland splayed a cross into the stand when well placed.
Cantwell almost provided that moment of inspiration. He had been prominent throughout the opening 45 minutes – often driving forward and making probing runs – and when he fizzed in a shot, it zipped along the ground and slipped through the legs of the County goalkeeper. Dessers pounced, but his effort was hacked off the line.
But the Nigerian wasn’t to be denied. Deep in first half stoppage time, he caressed a lovely header into the net. In truth, given the chances he had spurned, he should probably have become the first player to score five goals in a league game for Rangers since Kris Boyd back in December 2009, but to his credit, Dessers never let his head drop. The goal was assisted again by the boot of Tavernier, making it eight assists for the captain under Clement and a whopping 126 in total for Rangers.
Clement made a personnel change at the interval. Oscar Cortes, impressive against Ayr at the weekend, took over from Matondo on the left-hand side of the attack, but it was Lawrence who created the first opening of the half. Unfortunately, the Welshman’s effort was deflected wide.
Cortes was in the mood, though. He danced his way into space, but his cutback was slashed high over the bar by Dessers. For the time being, his first Rangers hat trick would have to wait. The Colombian then found himself in a shooting position but was denied by Wickens.
It was the County goalie’s ninth save of the match, and he hit double figures after 54 minutes to thwart Cantwell. The relentlessness was back, though, and the opening 10 minutes of the second half saw Rangers boast 76% possession and five shots on goal. Three of them were on target.
That superb synergy was to the fore now. ‘Build My Gallows’ was the anthem of choice, and the stands reverberated in a manner akin to a European night. Clement has brought that back too.
After 66 minutes, Lundstram cut inside and fired a left foot shot towards goal. It didn’t trouble Wickens, but the County keeper wasn’t out of the action for long as he had to paw away an effort from Lawrence. Clement has trusted the Welshman in that deeper number 6/number 8 role, and he was impressive again.
It was time for change on 70 minutes. It was the end of the night for Dessers and McCausland, with Silva and Wright their replacements. Dessers trudged off with two goals, nine shots at goal, seven of which were on target. He will have an important part to play as the season progresses, and he will score more goals. Don’t bet against him hitting at last 20 before the last ball is kicked in anger.
Another of the subs that should have made it 3-1 after 74 minutes. The ball was worked to Cortes, but the Colombian missed the target. At the very least he should have worked Wickens, something Cantwell did a couple of minutes later. He executed a dipping shot from the edge of the area that was tipped on to the bar.
Remarkably, that was Rangers’ thirty-second shot at goal. Sixteen were on target, with nine blocked and seven off target. Surely, by the law of averages, more goals would come if the home side continued to pepper the goal at the Copland Road end.
Clement looked pensive. Shot number 33 was pouched by Wickens, and as the minutes ticked away, you got the feeling that this would be a night when the points would be bagged but the goals required to supplant Celtic wouldn’t come. That seemed to be reinforced when Silva’s shot hit Wickens and the rebound from Cortes was headed away.
In the seven minutes of stoppage time, Cantwell registered shot number 40 of the night, and from the resulting corner, parity was restored at the summit in terms of points and goal difference. John Souttar’s header from Tavernier’s delicious delivery meant that Celtic now only led by virtue of the fact they had scored more goals.
While the outcome wasn’t what was expected, the turnaround under Clement has been staggering. He has us standing toe-to-toe with Celtic in a fight for the title. In his 25 matches, he has a win percentage of 84%. Jack Butland and his defence have kept 13 clean sheets. 56 goals have been scored, with only 14 conceded. If we can eradicate the defensive errors and be more clinical in front of goal – the manager talked about the difference tonight being ‘centimetres’ – the league trophy will be bedecked in red, white, and blue ribbons come May.
Roses are red, violets are blue, Rangers aren’t top of the table just yet, but in the meantime, Philippe Clement, we thank you.