Broken. Toxic. Rudderless.
These are the words associated with Rangers of October 2023. Behind in the league, struggling in Europe and, most importantly, showing no sign of progress or improvement. This is the mess that the 19th manager of our great institution would inherit.
Michael Beale’s departure left a huge void at the club, not because of his immense contribution in that role, but because it would take real self-belief, bravery and leadership to step into a club which seemed powerless to escape from the downward trajectory in which it had become entrapped. This was a huge task and one which I feared may deter prospective candidates, especially given the mid-season timing and palpable toxicity in the stands.
Step forward Philippe Clement.
The Belgian arrived at Ibrox with a CV, the quality of which I was not confident we could attract at this time. He was a three-time champion in his home country, winning the league with two different clubs and having managed in the Champions League. And while his time with Monaco did not replicate this success, this was a man who evidently knew how to win.
I had promised myself – having become tired of the Michael Beale rent-a-quote approach to press conferences – that I would not be placing much importance on what Clement had to say upon his unveiling in the Blue Room. And yet despite this it was difficult not to draw a favourable contrast with his predecessor as he introduced himself to the media and the fans.
Fan media at the time reported that Clement had a ‘presence’, that he knew how to command a room. While that might sound trivial, the ability to walk into a dressing room and instantly command respect is a trait that shouldn’t be undervalued, particularly at Rangers and particularly given the struggles of the man he replaced.
The phrase “proper manager” was one which became increasingly prevalent on social media as it quickly become clear that his experience in management meant that the adults were very much back in the room at Rangers. From the outset therefore he was very much talking the talk, but it was soon time to see whether he could walk the walk and deliver results.
Clement’s first-game would see an emphatic 4-0 victory over Hibernian at Ibrox and this was followed up with a 5-0 thrashing of Dundee at Dens, with a dramatic late victory vs Hearts sandwiched in between. He spoke of fixing the “synergy” between the fans and the team on the pitch and sure enough that bond was being repaired, one result at a time.
Lesser managers may not have been brave enough to subtly demand more from the fans who had become weary of regression and failure. But Clement had belief in himself, belief that he could turn things around on the pitch, allowing the support to feed off the players rather than turn on them.
The scenes witnessed in the stands post-Celtic and Aberdeen defeats seemed from another time as some positivity and optimism soon started to return. There was an understanding that the manager was tasked with making a silk purse from a sow’s ear given the state of the squad however he was giving it a damn good go.
He was also not scared of making big decisions. Todd Cantwell was substituted only 36 minutes into a home Europa League match for the crime of not following tactical instructions. It’s the kind of thing that is largely unheard of but a clear message from a manager who very much portrayed himself as the man in charge.
But the best part of that particular ‘matter’ is that it was resolved with such little fuss. Clement explained to Cantwell and to the media the reasoning behind his position and rather than it being an issue which snowballed, it was resolved like adults and Cantwell was given his chance in the coming weeks to make amends without any drama.
There were inevitable bumps in the road of course like failing to beat Aris Limassol at Ibrox or a narrow defeat at Parkhead before the New Year. But for every one of those there was a 5-0 tanking of Hearts – our best domestic performance of the season – or a historic victory in Spain against Real Betis to top our Europa League group. Things were, at the very least, moving in the right direction in a season which previously seemed unsalvageable.
And then of course was the big test, the one non-negotiable when Clement accepted the job – winning a trophy. With Celtic having exited the League Cup against Kilmarnock, we had a clear run at securing silverware having been scuppered directly by our city rivals in both competitions the previous year. He had to win it, the support demanded it. And win it he did.
Clement brought the League Cup home following a hard-fought victory against Aberdeen, a bogey team at a bogey ground. It wasn’t the prettiest or most emphatic victory in the world but he found a way to win when perhaps others would have failed, as our recent history demonstrated too regularly. We celebrated long and hard having being starved of relative success in recent years. And now the demand was for more.
While not completely unblemished our league form was strong. Certain players like Cyriel Dessers and Dujon Sterling were reinvigorated under the new management team and, while the football wasn’t always scintillating, we were winning. And that was something Celtic were finding difficult, blowing the title race wide open.
Rangers would in fact climb to the summit of the league following a 3-0 win over St Johnstone in February 2024, with Celtic’s draw at home to Kilmarnock on the Saturday offering up that opportunity. It seemed incomprehensible that 7 points behind in October we could recover and mount any sort of challenge. Sure, it took for our rivals to slip up, but the hard yards were done ourselves, under Clement, to put us top of the league right at the business end of the season. Fans started to believe. Fans started to dream. Could we clinch the most unlikeliest of championships?
We glanced nervously at the fixtures and collectively believed that if we took maximum points from our next two games against Hearts and Kilmarnock that overcoming these two huge hurdles would set us well on our way. Hearts were absolutely flying and were unbeaten in several months meanwhile Rugby Park has been a source of constant torture for our club over recent years. This was our big tests.
We would demolish the Edinburgh side at Ibrox, completely blowing them away in the first-half with some of the best football of the season. But as impressive as we were that day, we were almost equally disappointing against Killie, at least in terms of performance. Crucially though, in both, we took all three points. We were top of the league and solidified our position with these being our 8th and 9th consecutive league victories in a row. The league was becoming ours to lose.
March was a new month and, in this case, a new chapter in the story.
Join Kenny Stewart in the coming days for ‘Clement’s First Year Review: Part II” as he looks at what happened next then onto the current season.
Four Lads Had A Dream 