Rangers have landed a new manager in Philippe Clement – and fellow Belgian Stephan van der Heyden looks set to follow.
The Gers have announced the arrival of Philippe Clement today, exactly two weeks since Michael Beale’s exit, securing him on a deal until 2027.
This seems like a pretty exciting move for Rangers given Clement’s track record.
Clement won three league titles in a row in Belgium across spells with Genk and Club Brugge, which Rangers are now seeking from him at Ibrox.
The 49-year-old will now need to form his Rangers coaching staff – and his assistant has now been revealed.
Who is incoming Rangers assistant Stephan van der Heyden?
The Herald’s Chris Jack now reports that Clement will now be bringing Stephan van der Heyden to Ibrox as his assistant manager.
There will be more appointments to come but Van der Heyden appears to be the first to follow Clement to Ibrox.
A midfielder in his playing days, Van der Hayden was a prominent figure for Club Brugge during the 1990’s.
Van der Heyden even played against Rangers in a Champions League clash back in 1993, featuring against the likes of Richard Gough, Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant.
Spells with Roda JC, Lille, Germinal Beerschot and FC Kapellen followed before Van der Hayden turned to coaching.
Van der Heyden became assistant to Peter Maes at Lokeren in 2010 before returning to Club Brugge as a scout.
Van der Heyden then moved back to coaching, assisting Michel Preud’homme, Juan Carlos Garrido and, briefly, new Rangers boss Clement at Club Brugge.
The 54-year-old moved over to North Macedonia as Vardar assistant in 2017 before helping former Club Brugge teammate Vital Borkelmans with the Jordan international team.
Van der Heyden’s last job came with Kerala Blasters in India, assisting Ivan Vukomanovic between November 2012 and March 2022.
Now set for a return to football after more than 18 months out, Van der Heyden is poised to assist Clement in the hope of changing Rangers’ fortunes.
