Philippe Clement might not have many backers at Rangers right now.
But the under fire Ibrox manager does have a friend in former Belgium national team manager Georges Leekens.
Leekens, who is now 75, handed Philippe Clement an opportunity with the Belgium national team as a player and has been following his compatriot’s time at Rangers closely.
Rangers must ‘stay strong’ and back Philippe Clement
Rangers fans have led calls for Philippe Clement to be sacked after a disastrous season took an even worse turn against Scottish Cup against Queen’s Park.
With the 1-0 defeat one of the worst results in Rangers history, Clement has now effectively bottled all three domestic competitions this season.
Celtic are now odds-on to deliver a sixth treble in nine seasons and Rangers have now claimed only three major trophies out of the last 43 on offer.
Despite this, Leekens has urged Rangers to stick with the Belgian and for the Ibrox board to ‘stay strong’ despite recent challenges at Ibrox.
“I have known Philippe for a long time,” Leekens told Sunsport.
”He played for me with Belgium, then I brought him in as a coach with Brugge.
“He was a smart player and he is a smart coach — and Rangers are his life right now.
“Philippe puts everything into his work, and I have seen him develop as a coach, winning titles in Belgium.
“When he got the Rangers job, I thought it was perfect for him because the culture there suits him. He has the right mentality to be at that club.
“I understand there are critics right now after the last defeat in the cup, but there is a bigger picture.
”Do you think Rangers bringing in another coach would really fix everything? I don’t see that as a solution. They are finding it tough to compete financially with Celtic now and that is never easy.
“What Philippe has to do is grow a new team. He can’t just buy the best players from any nation.
“He needs to find players with potential, develop them and make them better — individually and as a team.
“There are always going to be disappointing results through that period, and when Rangers lose against a smaller club, the criticism comes.
“That happens in football. Look at Liverpool in the FA Cup at Plymouth, and look at Manchester City’s form.
“But this is the time when the people running Rangers need to stay strong behind Philippe. They need to stick together.
“In difficult periods, there has to be even more support of what he is doing, and the difficult task he has been given. He will get through this period. Philippe will understand the critics, as that is part of the job.
“But he will also work hard to get over this period, and show that he can be a successful Rangers coach.”
Philippe Clement will find ‘right balance’ at Rangers
Georges Leekens also insists that Philippe Clement excels when managing a young team, like the one he is building at Rangers.
The Belgian coach faces a huge task to turnaround the swell of discontent in the Ibrox ranks with a feeling that it’s a matter of when, not if, the Rangers manager leaves the club.
But Leekens really believes in what Clement is building at Rangers and reckons that if the Ibrox club give the Belgian manager time, they will eventually reap the rewards.
Leekens also believes there have been moments – in the Europa League in particular – where Rangers have actually gone above their level this season.
“What Philippe is very good at is developing players, because he understands how to communicate with them,” said Leekens.
“He can instil that belief in his players. I have seen it over many years with him, and he will get good results for Rangers if he gets time.
“Rangers are a good team. They have beaten Celtic and done well in the Europa League — but they do not have that consistency yet.
“Philippe is using many young players and, over time, they will get used to the demands of doing it every week.
“Maybe at times Rangers have gone higher than their actual level this season, but they will find the right balance.”
