Philippe Clement will find himself under immediate pressure to ‘just win’ as he takes the reigns at Rangers, former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill explains.
A three-time Scottish Premiership champion during his time on the other side of the Old Firm, O’Neill knows first-hand just what it takes to succeed in one of football’s most high-pressure environments.
And while Philippe Clement will be afforded some time to get his feet under the table at Ibrox, the Belgian needs only look at his Rangers predecessor Mick Beale to realise that a honeymoon period can quickly turn into an early and rather messy divorce.
Rangers hire Philippe Clement as new manager
“Just win. Just win some football matches,” O’Neill tells talkSPORT (16 October, 10am) when asked what Clement needs to do to win over the Rangers fans.
“You have to overtake Celtic. It is as simple as that. And you need to do that relatively quickly. He will be given a couple of weeks respite and then you’ve got to get on with it.
“Please done say ‘we’ve got a three-year plan’. You’ve got to win, and immediately.”
Fortunately for Clement, the 49-year-old has quite the track record when it comes to turning his team into the best in the country. The one-time Monaco boss arrives in Glasgow with three Belgian Jupiler League winners’ medals in his suitcase, guiding both Genk and Club Brugge to domestic glory.
Clement, who also guided Monaco to third in France’s Ligue 1, boasts arguably the most impressive CV of any of the coaches who appeared on Rangers’ radar, Pascal Jansen, Frank Lampard and Kevin Muscat among them.
‘The oustanding candidate’
“A team led by our CEO James Bisgrove, members of the board, and former Rangers player and manager Graeme Souness, has spent the last 10 days interviewing several high calibre candidates, with those individuals undergoing a rigorous interview and vetting process. We thank all candidates for their interest in the position,” chairman John Bennett tells the club’s official website.
“Philippe proved to be the outstanding candidate across all the key criteria, reinforced by his track record of winning titles.
“And I wish him every success as he leads us forward.”
Clement will take charge of Rangers for the first time against Hibernian on October 21st, a repeat of the fixture which kick-started the Beale regime 10 months ago.
