Philippe Clement reveals Rangers must sell before they buy and admits he didn't expect stark transfer reality

Philippe Clement admits he’ll have to offload some of his first-team stars before he can press ahead with his Rangers rebuild, writes Andy Newport in Venlo.

The Belgian boss has so far brought in five new faces this summer. But he knows a lot more are needed if his side are to mount a credible title bid and fulfil their Champions League ambitions. Further additions, however, are dependent on the club raising funds through sales.

“That’s the reality,” he confessed. “That’s the reality that the board told me a few months ago. I know this, the recruitment team knows this also. This is the reality of the club. I had other expectations when I came in in October, I have to say. But I know the reality now. I am very motivated to build the club and help in that.”

Clement has so far focussed on adding a youthful flavour to his team, bringing in 20-year-olds Jefte and Clinton Nsiala plus Connor Barron and Hamza Igamane, both 21. Liam Kelly at 28 is the only experienced recruit so far but his role will be to provide back-up to undisputed No1 Jack Butland. The pressure is on to bring in more established figures to fill first-team slots but Clement believes having a balanced approach to building his squad will pay dividends in the long run.

He said: “It’s focusing not only on the short term but also on the long term. If I only looked at the short term I would only bring in experienced players who can do the job directly. Mistakes like that have been made too much in the past and at the end you don’t reach your goals. You need a different philosophy and that’s what we are all working towards. This is a massive rebuilding job, it is true.

“Maybe some people would run away from that but, having been seven months in Glasgow, in this