Arthur's Column // 19th October 2023

I'd like to wish Philippe Clement the very best of luck in his job as manager of Rangers.

It's a prestigious role and one that anyone should feel hugely privileged to be given.

However, it's also a job that comes with massive pressure and he needs to be able to handle that aspect of it.

I appreciate that Philippe has worked in Belgium and won titles there. He also managed Monaco and that was a big job.

But nothing will compare to what he faces now at Ibrox. This is a totally different ball game.

The bottom line is that he needs to win trophies. He has a great chance of doing that as he has inherited a place in the League Cup semi-final.

He could have a piece of silverware in the cabinet on December 17th. That has to be the aim. That needs to be the first target.

There will be a level of expectancy that he delivers on that one. And rightly so.

The more difficult challenge is to overtake Celtic and win the SPFL Premiership title.

He takes over at a time when we are trailing the Parkhead club by seven points. But there are 30 games remaining, 90 points to play for.

It's going to be a huge ask, but it is not something that everyone can write off.

We need to fight Celtic all the way and show we can beat them when it matters. We've not done that often enough in the past year.

Ultimately, it all comes down to winning games of football. Quite frankly, that's all that matters.

I'm sure Philippe gets that. I've watched his conferences this week and I've been impressed.

He has talked sense and has been straight to the point. There has been no bluffing. I've really liked that.

The players will respond to those kinds of methods and he needs to get a fighting spirit back in the dressing-room.

The style of football also needs to improve. It just wasn't good enough under Michael Beale.

Philippe also needs to get more out of the current squad. They have under-performed.

Seeing the players improve and give 100 percent will improve the connections between the squad and the supporters.

The chemistry between them has been miles away in the past two months. That is an important thing to put right.

Parts of the current situation reminds me a wee bit of when Alex McLeish took over from Dick Advocaat midway through the 2001/02 season.

We were well behind Celtic in the League but we focused on winning the League Cup and Scottish Cup.

We managed to win both and the real beauty of it was that we beat Celtic in both competitions to get the silverware.

It gave everyone at the club some lovely feelings. I hope the same level of success is just around the corner for Philippe and the current squad.