Kenny Dalglish fixes glare on Rangers high stakes as Philippe Clement served reminder over 'make or break' month
The Scotland legend says the Belgian can't afford to repeat the opening Michael Beale had last season.
Kenny Dalglish has warned Philippe Clement he could face a make or break first month of the season with Rangers set to be homeless - and pointed to how Michael Beale failed in the exact same scenario last season.
Clement is facing a massive August amid an stadium shambles that will see his Light Blues face a crucial start to the Scottish Premiership season and Champions League qualifiers with Ibrox out of commission due to construction work which has been held up due to a delay in material arriving from the Far East.
Dalglish, writing in his Sunday Post column, noted speculation that the stadium might not be ready for the early estimated date of September. As it stands, Rangers need to find an alternative venue for two league games - against Motherwell and Ross County. They also have crunch Euro ties in August and a Premier Sports Cup tie. Scotland, Liverpool and Celtic legend Dalglish knows it’s not an ideal scenario for Clement who is already under a bit of pressure due to their failure in the run-in last season. He pointed to Beale's failure last season when they got off to a Premiership false start with defeat at Rugby Park on the opening day and losing to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League qualifiers before losing the first Old Firm derby of the season.
Dalglish wrote: “They do not seem to have an exact delivery date for when it (the steel) will be in their possession. It means they cannot play any home games between now and the end of August. It may well be longer than that. There is speculation that it could be as long as September or October. Nobody can be certain at this stage and we need to see how this plays out.
“However, what is clear is that this is far from ideal for Philippe Clement, his staff and his players. With so much at stake in the first few weeks of the season, they would want all of their pre-season to be smooth and stress-free. There is always enough to worry about when it comes to the £40 million Champions League qualifiers and getting off to the best possible start in the Premiership.
“August can make or break a season. In that month last year, under Michael Beale, Gers crashed out of the Champions League and lost their opening league fixture at Kilmarnock. Philippe is now in charge and faces an away day at Hearts on the opening day. That will not be easy.”