Rangers chief executive James Bisgrove has contradicted claims that club legend Graeme Souness preferred Frank Lampard over new manager Philippe Clement.
The former Ibrox marketing director, who has been in the CEO seat since the summer, was talking after the appointment of the 49-year-old Belgian coach.
Rangers underwent a rigorous recruitment process of which former manager Graeme Souness was central and eventually the club settled on ex-Club Brugge and Monaco boss Philippe Clement.
With ex-Chelsea coach Frank Lampard an early contender for the job, TalkSPORT and Sky Sports journalist Jim White claimed that Graeme Souness had given the England legend his backing.
However, as he thanked Graeme Souness for his role in the appointment of the 19th Rangers manager, James Bisgrove appeared to suggest otherwise.
Claiming that Philippe Clement was the “unanimous” pick of the board which had been set up to recruit the new manager, it’s certainly in contrast to the Graeme Souness comments of Jim White.
“We went through a process that was multi-layered and undertook a lot of due diligence and took our time with the board to get this appointment right,” Bisgrove said.
“We had a very clear vision in terms of the characteristics that we wanted the next Rangers manager to have, and the board were unanimous that Philippe was the outstanding candidate in that process.”
James Bisgrove keen on Graeme Souness Ibrox role
All of this comes against the backdrop of reports that James Bisgrove and Rangers are set to strike a deal to bring Graeme Souness back to the club in some capacity.
The Rangers legend is a hugely respected figure in the club’s history and it’s clear that those at the top of the marble staircase view Souness as an equally important one in the club’s future.
BBC Scotland reporter Chick Young claimed ahead of the 4-0 win over Hibs that Graeme Souness would be returning to Rangers in a “consultancy” capacity.
In comments which have appeared in the Daily Record, Rangers chief executive James Bisgrove has also been suggesting that the club are looking to work with Graeme Souness longer term.
“Graeme was brilliant, giving up his time and being part of the process,” said Bisgrove.
“We’ve a really strong relationship with Graeme in terms of his involvement with the club.
“It’s a conversation and a relationship that I would like to build on, moving forward. He understands better than anyone what it means to sit in that chair as Rangers manager. He understands what it means to manage and lead a dressing room, to the pressure of the supporters and media.
“Graeme was able to ask questions from a real place of experience and allowed us to get the best out of the candidates. If you have Souness asking those questions then there’s an aura about him.”
Bisgrove: Clement was everyone’s “outstanding” choice
The Rangers CEO also once again suggested that Philippe Clement had been identified alongside Souness as the “outstanding” candidate and the unanimous choice for the job.
“It was a rounded criteria and there was a significant emphasis on the candidates’ leadership traits and personality as well as track record and experience,” Bisgrove said.
“We had a scorecard and, right the way through the process, Philippe was the outstanding candidate. All of the board members and investors when they had conversations with the candidates graduated towards Philippe because he was the individual who had the strongest alignment.”
Graeme Souness is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Scottish footballing history, having enjoyed success as captain of Liverpool and the national team during his playing days.
The 70-year-old joined Rangers as player-manager back in 1986 and spent five years transforming the club on and off the park before moving to Liverpool in 1991.
The James Bisgrove comments about Graeme Souness are also not expected to have an impact on the club’s search for a technical director.
