Philippe Clement rejects pressing Rangers panic button as boss makes demand over Ibrox rebuild

Philippe Cement has insisted he’s not in a pre-season panic as he urged the Ibrox support to give his stuttering Rangers rebuild time.

The big Belgian and his recruitment chief Nils Koppen have been planning a major overhaul of the Light Blues squad this summer – and finally got it under way yesterday with the capture of Wolfsburg winger Vaclav Cerny on a year-long loan They had been forced to pause their signing efforts while attempting to shift high-earners like Connor Goldson, James Tavernier and Todd Cantwell off the wage bill.

But with Lammers gone after joining FC Twente, Goldson is set to be the next to depart having jetted out to complete a move to Aris Limassol, Clement was at last able to kickstart his recruitment drive with Cerny’s arrival. With midfield flop Jose Cifuentes also on the move as he heads for Aris Thessaloniki having cut short a loan stint in Brazil, Clement now hopes that be will be able to get down to business as he chases remaining targets like Morgan Whittaker and Joan Jordan.

That should hopefully ease concerns of the dread-filled supporters, who have grown alarmed having seen their side lose three straight warm-up clashes to Ajax, Manchester United and English third-tier outfit Birmingham. And Clement hopes they will keep their cool as he and Koppen race to get their team ready for next week’s Premiership curtain raiser at Tynecastle.

The Rangers boss - speaking ahead of today’s final pre-season clash with Union Berlin in the German capital - said: “Of course you want to win but we know what the situation is with a rebuild in that way.

“We’ve lost so many players and need to bring others in, who are in some cases not here yet. We also have a lot of young players who need to gain experience.