Rangers board let down Philippe Clement on transfer deadline day and they should be grateful he’s still there

Philippe Clement might just be out there on his own now as a Rangers manager.

Unmatched, even by the club’s greatest gaffers including Walter Smith, Graeme Souness and Steven Gerrard. No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you – you read that right. It’s quite possible the Belgian is now a unique Ibrox boss, different to all the rest. Not because of trophies won or honours achieved. Not because of European success or memorable victories. Instead, Clement probably now stands alone as the only manager in Rangers’ history to be told to work with what he’s got.

"Just play the kids if you have to." That’s the message that's been made abundantly clear from the top of the marble staircase. And by the way, given the financial problems this club has encountered in recent years, maybe that’s the RIGHT road to go down.

Let’s be honest, it’s what should have happened in 2012 when Rangers went bust and had to fight their way back up the leagues. If they’d adopted this approach then, Rangers as a whole might be in a far better place now.

Instead, they dished out £6k a week contracts to Kevin Kyle. So perhaps they’ve finally seen sense. Or it’s that gross mismanagement and poor recruitment since winning their last title in 2021 have left them in a mess.

Whatever it is, Clement’s the guy who’s picking up the slack. So if it goes badly wrong and doesn’t yield trophies in the next two seasons? Or if some of the Auchenhowie babes simply aren’t good enough to cut it at Rangers? Don't blame Clement.

He’s been justifiably criticised here at times this term for poor decisions or ill-advised comments that haven’t helped him. Whether he likes it or not, the whole sports science farce which resulted in Vaclav Cerny not playing against Dynamo Kiev - or