Philippe Clement '200%' sure Rangers rebuild is on track but understands fan anger

Philippe Clement feels that his Rangers rebuild is “200%” on the right track and has warned that constantly changing manager will not help the club reach its goals.

Clement had come under pressure following last weekend’s defeat to Kilmarnock that left Rangers six points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in the title race after just eight games played.

That result and performance has seen many supporters calling for Clement to be replaced as manager, with some fans saying that they haven’t seen improvement in the team since he replaced Michael Beale a year ago.

As he prepared to face Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League, Clement defended his position, stressing that every effort was being made to improve the club’s fortunes but that the “rebuild” wouldn’t just happen overnight.

“I don’t want to talk about it too much but we spoke about ‘a big rebuild’ in many ways, with cutting wages to make the club sustainable, for now and for the future,” the Rangers boss said. “Because there were decisions made in the past before I was here. I accepted that story after long talks for the long-term and to make long-term decisions together with the board, for the future.

“So we are working hard with the players and staff to make it as fast as possible back to the level that this club was at 12 or 15 years ago, and in moments over the last couple of years but never over a long period.

“That takes time and we have got to work hard on that. It’s a process we need to follow and it’s about performing well maybe less days and you want to avoid that as much as possible. That was one of the lower days against Kilmarnock in specific circumstances and it’s about reacting now against Steaua Bucharest.”

Clement refused to put a timescale on when he felt the process of rebuilding the squad and team would be complete but when asked if he felt the club was on the right trajectory, he replied “For sure. 200%”.

“You can ask these questions (about timescale), and everybody does all over the world, but there’s not one manager in the world who can say that for any transfer in that way,” he said.

“We had to do a lot of transfers because of the circumstances and it’s about working hard with the players to get them in their best form, feeling good in the club, getting the connections together on the pitch and learning how to play together on the pitch.

“There are so many things to do and it’s just a part of the list that needs to be done. That takes time.”

Clement signed a new four-year contract with Rangers in August and he says that decision was a commitment from both him and the club to a long-term vision.

“Of course that was all the idea about the contract from the board and also from me to show that I would not leave if something else came along the way,” he said. “So everyone who did this job or worked in football knows to make that rebuild and cutting wages and making the club sustainable while investing in young players for now and for the future, it takes time. You can’t do that in three months.”

And he stressed that making a managerial change while still in the process of a rebuild would be counter-productive, saying that consistency was key to reviving Rangers’ fortunes.

“It’s the only way, “he said. “And not just the only way, it’s like that in clubs all over the world.

“If you change ideas every three months, six months or every year then there’s no consistency in the club. You need to follow a track, one process that everyone goes in the right direction, otherwise you always have ups and downs.

“You’ll change a lot because if you go on the emotion of the day or one result or two results then you can’t have any consistency.”