Whether Philippe Clement’s first season in the Rangers dugout ends with three trophies, two, or just the Scottish League Cup, the decision to hand him the reigns following the collapse of the Mick Beale era looks all the more inspired when you consider how things have transpired for some of the other names reportedly on the Ibrox watchlist.
Pascal Jansen was fired by AZ Alkmaar in January, just three months after Clement’s arrival on the blue side of Glasgow. Frank Lampard, the appointment championed by Rangers legend Graeme Souness, remains out of work.
And while those links with Nenad Bjelica were played down in the end – by the man himself no less – what appears to be an imminent and inevitable departure from Bundesliga strugglers Union Berlin means his reputation has plummeted while Clement’s moves steadily in the other direction.
Manager linked with Rangers heading for quick exit
Bjelica, German publication Kicker reported on Wednesday, will leave Union at the end of the season. It is not ruled out that the 52-year-old could say his goodbyes even earlier, particularly if the Berlin club lose to relegation rivals Bochum this weekend.
Bjelica was hired in November, replacing club legend Urs Fischer, with one simple task. Save a club who had qualified for the Champions League as recently in May from a shock return to the second-tier.
He may yet do just that. Union are still two points above the relegation play-off spot. But a dreadful points-per-game average of just over one hardly paints the picture of Bjelica bringing about happier times to the iconic Stadion An der Alsten Forsterei over a long-term period.
The former Osijek and Dinamo Zagreb coach, who lasted only a few months in his previous job at Trabzonspor too, has tasted victory in just six of his 21 games in Germany. Last week’s 5-1 collapse against Bayern Munich may not have been the straw that broke the camel’s back but a repeat performance against Bochum and that weight may quickly become too heavy for that poor dromedary to handle.
Philippe Clement has glory in his sights
“In the second half, we tried something new and changed things,” Bjelica explained, blaming himself as Bayern racked up the goals in the second-half. “Bayern made it 3-0 with their first chance. That was the end for my team.
“We wanted to put more pressure on them. We have a ten-minute blackout where we concede two more goals after being 3-0 down. That’s on me.
“It went wrong. That’s my fault.”
While Rangers have endured a downturn of their own of late – last week’s rather fortunate 2-1 triumph over St Mirren their first in five league games – that a domestic treble is still a very real possibility is testament to the way Clement has re-assembled the pieces of Beale’s broken jigsaw.
