Since arriving as Rangers manager, Philippe Clement has been consistent with his message to the press and, it would appear, to the players too.
Every minute of every game demands the same respect, the same effort and the same intensity and, so far, this mindset seems to be gradually reaping the rewards.
When asked about the changes that has seen Rangers form improve, Leon Balogun explained, via The Rangers Review, just how much of an impact Philippe Clement has had.
Rangers improvement under Philippe Clement explained
Clement doesn’t seem to have complicated anything or changed shape or system to any real degree and yet performances, and results, have both improved.
Balogun, when replying to a question about whether or not the Rangers squad has had a lift from Philippe Clement’s arrival said:
“I think it is an effect you see from most teams normally if they have a new manager, mainly because everybody says ‘it is a clean slate, I need to impress’.
“Some players want to get their chance, some players want to keep their place.
“On top it comes with what the manager brings. He is very clear in his ideas and his demands and he is clear in letting us know that we better live up to it.
“It is not that he is super, super strict but he sets a certain level of expectation that everyone lives up to at the moment and I think that is what you can see on the pitch.”
In just a handful of games, we have seen more intensity on the touchline from Philippe Clement than we did during Michael Beale’s entire tenure.
Yes, every manager is different, however, there never seemed to be any urgency or pace about how we were playing under Beale and that was almost reflected in his manner.
Balogun isn’t the only player to speak about clarity in relation to the new manager’s instructions.
It would be a false equivalence to suggest that the last boss confused his players but by simply asking his players to be more aggressive and take more risks, we have seen an immediate upturn in form.
Rangers are far from the finished article and Philippe Clement still has some way to go to prove that he is the right man for the job but, what he has shown is that he has the right mentality and the right standards to succeed.
It’s up to the players to do the rest.
