Patrick Stewart has already made it clear in no uncertain terms that Rangers are backing Philippe Clement.
The incoming Ibrox CEO is under pressure himself as he looks to deal with the situation at Rangers, where the club have all but completely slipped out of another title race.
With Celtic marching towards four-in-a-row and a record-equalling 55th title, the Union Bears staged a mass walk-out in protest against the club’s repeated failings.
And yet, Patrick Stewart has told supporters that Philippe Clement is going nowhere, so long as there continues to be signs of steady improvement.
Instead, an independent review is set to be launched into the running of Rangers to get ‘under the bonnet’ of what’s gone wrong since the halcyon days of 55.
Philippe Clement faced the press after the Union Bears’ protests in the win over St Johnstone and spoke candidly about the positive impact Patrick Stewart is already having at Ibrox.
Philippe Clement on Patrick Stewart
”Normal week as others,” Clement told Sky Sports when asked how the week running up to the St Johnstone match had went. “No, in a better way.
”Not this week but the last couple of weeks since Patrick stepped into the building.
”That there’s clarity now and that I feel that things in the club are moving.
”It’s been six months, seven months that I’ve felt sometimes alone in the desert with a lot of things.
”You see things start to move now and (Stewart) is very motivated to make things better.
”The things I spoke about in the last seven, eight, nine, twelve months, but you feel he’s very motivated to change those things.
”I’m happy about that and I am focused about getting results with the team and getting better performances away from home.
”But also to keep consistency at home. You cannot forget that, it’s not a guarantee to get the wins here.
“You always need to work hard for that, what the team did today.”
Rangers manager on CEO and independent review
Philippe Clement was asked about Patrick Stewart’s stirring defence following the 3-1 win over St Johnstone.
Rangers have now won 10 out of 11 home matches this season but it’s the away form which has the knives being sharpened and Clement on the chopping block.
Three wins from 11 on the road has the Union Bears threatening more protests and that show of support from the CEO was an important indicator of the resolve at Rangers.
It’s not something Clement takes lightly and as the manager addressed a post-match press conference, the Belgian once again reiterated his delight that Stewart is in the door.
“I know that,” said Clement when asked about Stewart’s support. “I know that, and I spoke with Patrick already a lot.
“He’s not long in the building, but I’m very happy that he’s here.
“I’ve been six, seven months sometimes feeling alone in the desert and addressing things to make better in the club, or that I saw things regressing because the situation – I feel – is very motivated to make things better.
“That will help me, that will help the football department, but it will help everything inside the club.
“So I’m happy that we can have really open and sometimes critical discussions about it.”
And what about the ‘root and branch’ independent review that Patrick Stewart is set to command and then implement in the coming weeks?
Stewart claims that an independent review, which will see changes almost immediately implemented, will begin on Monday 13th January.
It’s something that Philippe Clement welcomes with the Rangers manager as eager as anyone else to get to the root cause of the Gers’ issues and ensure more consistency at Ibrox.
”We had also a kind of review last season also in that way, because there are several things that we need to improve to go to the level that Rangers need to be,” said Clement.
”So those are things, what I said, that’s been addressed the last couple of months, but there was no platform to change a lot. And maybe not to change a lot, that’s maybe not well said.
“To change certain things, and I think it’s crucial, but it’s in every club crucial also to have a review every year about things, also when things go well, because teams who keep on doing the same, they don’t evolve and they don’t become better.
“So in that way, it’s a normal thing, I think, for every club who wants to improve themselves.”
