Philippe Clement taking Rangers transfer stock as boss reaches halfway point on road to January masterplan
The Belgian has yet to make any final decisions but has one area he wants to address this winter.
He's been making a list and checking it twice but Philippe Clement insists it’s still far too early to decide which of his Rangers players have been naughty and nice.
With the festive season approaching, the Ibrox gaffer is preparing for the January sales. But before he can start work on his transfer window wishlist he must first finish running the rule over his existing squad. He said: “How long have I been here now? Five weeks? It is still five weeks at least until January so I am only halfway on the journey to really make good decisions around that.
“There are a few players I didn’t even see yet on the pitch to play games or who have trained two or three times in the five weeks. To make a clear opinion about all the squad, it is not realistic to do it now for the moment. Of course we have ideas and we have talked about that and we are looking at things as a club because there is also an imbalance to the squad. In some positions we’ve a lot of players and in others some not.
“Those are things to look towards for January and the rest. It is going to be very interesting in the next five weeks how all the players will perform.”
One player who has certainly impressed Clement is Ross McCausland who this week agreed terms on a deal which will tie him to his boyhood heroes until 2027. “Clearly I’m happy about that,” said Clement. “I’ve talked the last couple of weeks and said this is a young talent, he comes out of the academy here, he’s a fan of Rangers, all his family are.
“He’s done good things with the minutes he has played. He works hard in training, he’s somebody who wants to become better.
“He made a good international debut so I think (his new contract) is an important thing. And I think it’s an important signal also. He’s a player who was very popular in the market but he wants to stay here. I think he will have a bright future here if he continues doing what he’s done so far.”
Clement has been encouraged by McCausland’s desire to force his way into the first-team picture. Now he wants the players already holding down slots to push on in the quest for prizes. Rangers can guarantee themselves European football after Christmas by beating Aris Limassol tonight.
But with the Viaplay Cup Final against Aberdeen also to come in the next fortnight amid a hectic run of crucial Premiership clashes, the Rangers boss insists now is not the time to pick and choose when to put the effort in.
Clement – a three-time Belgian league winner as a boss – said: “I want ambitious people in the building. I want to create winners. And winners are, for me, people who always want to win.
“Not one competition or two. They want to win everything they do, they want to win in training. I cannot put priorities into one competition because then I don’t create winners. So that’s the thing for the game against Aris.
“It’s the next game, going full, and knowing if you win that you take the next step. Being in Europe after January is an important thing for the club, for the players also.
“Everybody likes to play with all Europe watching these games. As a club it’s also important to have good European results because it adds stature to your club.”