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Philippe Clement’s good fortune can be measured through the paintings made since the last time visitors to Ibrox on Tuesday night visited Govan.
It was Aberdeen who inflicted the final blow in Michael Beale’s sorry Rangers reign with a 3-1 victory last September which left the Light Blues trailing Celtic by seven points after just seven games of the Scottish Premiership campaign. Even St Mirren were three points ahead and it was too much for the Ibrox board who pulled the trigger 24 hours after that defeat.
Even the most ardent Rangers fan would have struggled to make the case for their team winning the league title this season, however, just four months on from that defeat things have changed. The Dons head south with veteran England manager Neil Warnock likely to be in the red corner and a Rangers win with 3 or more goals would put them top of the Premiership for the first time in TWO YEARS.
This will be Clement’s 16th league game with his impressive record of 14 wins, one draw and that one defeat (to Celtic) that reshaped the club. He helped overcome a Hoops wobble, and Brendan Rodgers’ team dropped 12 points in the same period. The Rangers’ struggles early in the season and two Old Firm losses have still left many wondering about his abilities, whether in the Parkhead look or when former players became experts.
However, that vision may replace the Rangers breathing down Celtic’s neck and the Hoops looking to regain the consistency of recent seasons. Rangers’ complaint during Celtic’s dominance, and specifically during the Beale era, was that there was too much discussion and not enough to back it up (think Todd Cantwell’s fancy 56th Instagram post on the eve of the new season). But it turns out that Clement nipped this in the bud while quietly minding his own business, however, there has been commentary from all sides. that may be extra motivation at Ibrox. Here, Record Sport takes a look at five of them during the season.
Celtic legend Scott Brown could claim his former club was pretty much set on the name when he takes his Ayr United team to Ibrox for Saturday’s Scottish Cup fifth round draw at teatime. Before landing at the gig in Somerset Park, Brown spoke about the name race and had no doubts about the outcome. “I think Celtic are going to win the league,” he said confidently. “I think Celtic have the most productive team overall, especially the three most sensible ones. They seem more in need of scoring goals than Rangers. “It seems like they gave them more legs all over the park and probably gave them better midfielders and defenders. ”
Callum McGregor made a wild comment for Rangers after Celtic’s derby win at Parkhead. The captain is measured when speaking to the media, but lets his guard down a bit when addressing punters in a welcome suite, and it showed on social media. The Light Blues “don’t control the intensity” and “start to get to rock bottom very quickly” when pressed before adding that they “didn’t play anyone” during an unbeaten run under Clement. He was incredibly fair and gave genuine insight into what the Celtic dressing room really thinks of their rivals.
Neil Lennon has claimed that the Ibrox side do not have the mentality to break Celtic’s dominance in the Premiership. The Irishman said: “They don’t have that mentality yet of crushing the grip that Celtic have over them and they want to break it if they want to. “to win the league.
“And to do that they want to bring in players of higher quality or a higher mentality. “Clement responded by thanking Lennon for getting his team talking, in Lennon’s defense he spoke of the Gers’ ability to win the Old Firm derthrough and that he has yet to get a response. His chance to debunk it will come to Ibrox in April.
When Rodgers returned to Parkhead for his second visit, he focused on improving in Europe, with domestic good fortune all but considered inevitable given his enormous good fortune on that front the first time around, the fact that he took over a three-time winning team. team and was up against an unproven coach. And while he was at the top of Celtic Way on opening day, he was obviously confident to address all the sceptics, and those holding grudges about the way he went in his first spell. with an undeniable message: “To those I want to convince, see you here in May.
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Throughout his first spell in charge, Rodgers continually heard of an improving Rangers as they returned to the top flight for the first time. But he brushed them aside before leaving for Leicester City. And as he basked in another derby triumph – his second of this season – in the Ne’erday clash he played down talk of a challenge from the other side with plenty of hype surrounding a rejuvenated Light Blues under Clement. He simply said: “Over my two spells here I’ve worked against five Rangers managers and every time Rangers were coming. Every time at some point. So for me, it’s it’s normal. If I listened to media and press then we would be in constant crisis mode and constant fear of Rangers.” But when asked if it would be a “real battle” after dropping two points at Pittodrie at the weekend, he said: “I expected nothing more. You come into every season expect that. Some people maybe feel you can win by 10, 15 points but any competitive club and team will make sure they are their to fight but so are we.”