New Rangers manager Philippe Clement says he is ready to “go through walls” to bring success and a winning mentality to Ibrox.
The former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss was appointed as Michael Beale’s replacement at the weekend and will take charge of the team for the first time against Hibernian on Saturday.
He joins with the club already seven points Celtic in the Premiership but only two games away from the first piece of silverware of the season in the League Cup.
And it is his intention to hit the ground running with a squad of players that have so far failed to live up to expectations but who will be given a clean slate to prove themselves.
Speaking to the Scottish press for the first time as he was officially unveiled at Ibrox beside CEO James Bisgrove, he said; “My short term and long term objectives are to win, that has always been my life and that’s what I want. But I also know there is a process to get to that point and we need to work towards that.
“There are a lot of things we can make better and it’s going to be a process week by week to make things better.
“When I saw all the games from this season, I saw moments of frustration that players really wanted to do the right thing but started to do the wrong things because their expectations were that high and maybe from the fans also.
“Now we need to create a really stable story together and make everything really clear for them to play really good football and get good results.”
Clement spoke to former Rangers star Thomas Buffel, who he played with at international level and coached at Genk, about joining the club.
He said: “Thomas was very positive about the club, he had a great time here, he also knows me really well and he told me this is a club that suits me.
“He knows I am a winner, that I want to go through walls to win games and that this is a mentality that this club needs and wants, and what the fans want.”
The 49-year-old, who won three consecutive titles in Belgium, was clear in his intentions to put an end to Celtic’s trophy domination of recent seasons and get his new club, who have won only one Premiership title in the last 12 years, back to the top of the pile in Scotland.
And he insisted the support have a big part to play in bringing trophies to Ibrox.
He said: “I want to win everything. This is the mentality I have and want to create more and more winners in our dressing room.
“If you have the 50,000 here behind us, we become so much stronger, it is very important to create synergy between fans and players.
“The fans have so much power when they get behind the team in a positive way.
“My ambition is to create a team with the best technical, tactical, physical and mentality in the league.
“I am aware this will take a lot of hard work.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
