Philippe Clement has restored a sense of pride and excitement to Rangers with an opening run of results that leaves a lot to be excited about.
It is though, just a start, nothing more, and the next run of fixtures up to the winter break will determine whether or not the new Gers boss can do the unthinkable and win the Scottish Premiership title.
Not only that but, Philippe Clement can secure silverware and guide Rangers to European football after Christmas in a run of games that could well define our season.
Philippe Clement has three objectives for Rangers
Straight away, looking at the upcoming games, the standouts are Aberdeen away this weekend, Aris Limassol at home, Hearts away in midweek, the Viaplay Cup final and the second Old Firm derby of the season at Parkhead.
There are 12 games between now and the winter break that starts following our home game at Ibrox against Kilmarnock on the 2nd of January, six at home, five away and one at Hampden.
The league games at home are St Mirren, Dundee, St Johnstone, Ross County and Kilmarnock.
Philippe Clement will be disappointed with anything other than maximum points for Rangers from these games now that he has had more time to work on the training ground.
The Aris Limassol game is key because, if three points can be secured, it means that the Gers boss can rotate away against Real Betis just a few days before the Viaplay Cup final.
Likewise, the build-up to the Old Firm has to be managed correctly with two games at Ibrox against St Johnstone and Ross County split with a short trip to face Motherwell.
Momentum is massive and, if Philippe Clement can get through the first five games against Aberdeen, Limasson, St Mirren, Hearts and Dundee, then it will set us up nicely for the rest of the month.
As would winning the league cup for the second half of games.
It’s as congested a fixture list as you can get but, with players returning from injury, Philippe Clement is starting to get the sort of Rangers squad that he will need to navigate it successfully with three targets in mind:
- Progress in the Europa League
- Win the Viaplay Cup
- Close the gap on Celtic.
The Belgian claimed not to be a magician when he walked through the door but, if he can pull off all three, someone will have to check his sleeves.
