Philippe Clement earns Rangers star Nico Raskin’s seal of approval and hands him next manager rave review
The Belgian boss is in the final round of interviews to be Michael Beale's successor at Ibrox.
Nico Raskin believes compatriot Philippe Clement could be the perfect fit for Rangers.
The Belgian boss was in London yesterday holding talks with Gers chiefs as a high-level Light Blues delegation kicked off the final round of interviews. Australian Kevin Muscat also remains in the frame after undergoing a second interview last night via video link from Japan where he is preparing Yokohama Marinos for a J League Cup semi-final against Urawa Reds tomorrow.
Chairman John Bennett, chief exec James Bisgrove and director Graeme Park are sitting down with candidates today and tomorrow as they weigh up their next move after sacking Michael Beale. Clement and Muscat remain the frontrunners. And sources in Belgium say former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco coach Clement is desperate to land the gig despite having a bumper contract offer on the table from mega-bucks Saudi outfit Al-Shabab.
And Raskin reckons his countryman could be the right man to takeover from Beale, who signed him in January. The 49-year-old former Belgium international won three league titles in his homeland before moving to Ligue 1 with Monaco, who he guided to a third place finish in 2022.
He was sacked 12 months later but his stock remains high having impressed pundits and fellow coaches in Europe with his high-energy attacking style. And Raskin would be excited by the prospect of hooking up with Clement in Glasgow.
He said: “I don’t know [Clement] personally but he did very well with the two teams he had in Belgium. And he also did incredibly well at Monaco. So let’s see what happens in the future.
“Would he be a good fit here? Yeah, I think he’d bring some clarity and an attacking style, so I think he’d be good.”
Whoever takes over from Beale will be inheriting a team seven points in arrears to Premiership leaders Celtic. But Raskin insists it’s far too early to write off the Ibrox side’s title chances.
He said: “Are we good enough? Of course we’re good enough. We’ve got like six or seven players out injured, so it’s been a hard time.
“But now people are going to come back soon, hopefully. We have to look forward and work hard. We’re still early in the season and we have to do our job in the park. If we look after ourselves and take it game by game. Then we will see what happens.”