Philippe Clement has not adopted best transfer strategy and the reality of hefty Rangers pay pokes is becoming clear

In 2010, a cheeky Labour minister infamously left a note at the Treasury for the incoming coalition saying good luck, there’s no money left.

You get the sense Philippe Clement could have done with someone scribbling a similar message and leaving it in his drawer at Ibrox. The Rangers boss has been hinting at it for a while now but couldn’t be clearer now that he has to shift even more of his deadwood before he can get back to rebuilding the side. Back in 2010, the Tories and Lib Dems went about slashing costs all over the shop – and we’re now in a time of austerity at Ibrox.

Clement doesn’t just have his hands tied. He’s like the Black Knight from Monty Python’s Holy Grail who has his arms and legs hacked off but writes it off as mere flesh wounds. Clement has made some mis-steps in recent months and has dangerously shown signs of getting dragged into the Glasgow goldfish whirlpool. But the guy doesn’t half have his work cut out – and more so this week than ever.

The prospect of going to Parkhead next weekend with no fans and no idea what his team is going to look like is enough to have most gaffers staring at the ceiling all night. Some fans might take heart in the fact Celtic are flogging one of their best players in Matt O’Riley, but the swathes of cash over the city means they could get the cheque book out and bring in two or three players that Rangers could only dream about landing.

This Old Firm clash is coming at a nightmare time for Clement. The scheduling doesn’t help. Whatever brand of AI that’s been let loose on the SPFL super computer clearly had a wicked sense of humour.

Sticking a derby a couple of days after the window shuts is a cruel joke for everyone – but it’s especially awkward for Clement. He’s