'i Had Bad Feeling After League Cup Final' - Clement On His Rangers Demise

"I had a feeling, a bad feeling, aft nan League Cup final."

The passing of 4 months has afforded Philippe Clement clip to bespeak connected his turbulent 16-month reign arsenic Rangers manager.

Distance from Glasgow, and nan febrile situation successful which he became engulfed, has allowed him to pinpoint 1 peculiar crippled that he believes marked nan opening of nan extremity of his clip successful complaint astatine Ibrox.

Mid-December 2024. Pressure is building. Rangers are 9 points down Celtic. Only a bid of bully Europa League results are keeping nan dogs astatine bay.

Just 3 days earlier nan season's first home silverware is awarded, Clement's broadside gain different of those successful a creditable 1-1 tie pinch Tottenham Hotspur.

Then to Hampden, pinch Celtic dense favourites to wrest backmost nan League Cup.

Rangers, however, spell toe-to-toe pinch them and are denied a spot-kick earlier losing connected penalties pursuing a 3-3 draw.

"I deliberation it was a captious game," Clement tells BBC Sport Scotland.

"If we had won, location would person been much patience pinch nan fans besides and nan committee could person stayed overmuch calmer."

But Rangers did not and Clement endured a wintertime of highs and lows earlier being relieved of his duties pursuing an abject conclusion by St Mirren astatine Ibrox successful February.

In nan week that Russell Martin was appointed his full-time successor, nan Belgian talks to BBC Sport Scotland astir cutting costs, recruitment, mentality and nan players he near behind.

Every head wants patience - and fewer get it. But Clement arguably sewage much than predecessors Michael Beale and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

After all, neither of them suffered nan ignominy of a Scottish Cup location conclusion by second-tier Queen's Park.

Protesting that his squad needed clip to create and turn became a regular refrain of Clement's and nan passing of clip has not changed his position connected that.

"It's a pity that nan communicative stopped, that nan committee didn't person nan patience, aliases possibly listened excessively overmuch to immoderate fans," he says.

"There are different clubs wherever location is simply a difficult infinitesimal and everybody sticks together because everybody knows nan story, really nan activity is done wrong nan building, and they proceed and they are successful afterwards.

"In 3 aliases 4 windows, we could person closed nan spread [to Celtic] pinch a bully improvement of players, but nan determination is made and you request to judge it."

As Rangers tried to assuage swingeing losses, Clement's task was to usurp Celtic but pinch a diminishing budget.

Was he initially misled astir what costs mightiness beryllium disposable to him?

"No, not misled, but I understand now why," he says. "Because immoderate group were already reasoning astir trading nan nine and trading their stocks.

"I deliberation you request to spell backmost to 1 twelvemonth ago. The communicative was that nan nine was not financially sustainable anymore, truthful that was nan communicative of nan transportation window."

Clement says he and nan recruitment squad were told they could walk immoderate money nan nine were capable to recoup successful subordinate income and from cutting net spend.

But, contempt taking "more than 35%" from nan costs bill, an ageing squad, contracts expiring, and a deficiency of charismatic young talent, meant nan output proved meagre.

"You summation money by bringing young players in, making them amended and trading them," Clement says. "That was nan idea. There was not different roadworthy to take.

"In nan end, it's astir deciding if nan thought we had was working. You request patience to build it aliases you request to walk money. It's 1 of nan two.

"Without 1 of nan two, it's an intolerable job."

It had each started truthful well.

Rangers were 7 points down Celtic erstwhile Michael Beale mislaid his occupation astatine nan extremity of September 2023.

But from Clement taking complete until nan extremity of February, their only convention nonaccomplishment came astatine Celtic Park. That tally ended pinch nan Ibrox broadside 2 clear astatine nan top.

Things began to spell awry soon after, though. A location conclusion by Motherwell. A first-ever nonaccomplishment to Ross County. Then a tie astatine Dundee.

Celtic ne'er looked backmost aft that arsenic Rangers' mentality and inability to break teams down began to beryllium questioned.

"I don't work together pinch that," Clement says of nan second criticism. "In moments, it was really good, but successful moments not.

"It's much a communicative astir consistency, astir having nan request - physically and mentally - to beryllium fresh for that each 3 days.

"In nan end, nan squad was not ready. There were excessively galore players who had ne'er done this before."

Clement besides bridles astatine proposal mentality was an issue.

Mentioning nan slip-ups against County and Dundee, he points retired that "two players who were not bully successful those games" near astatine nan extremity of nan play and were possibly distracted by discussions pinch different clubs astatine nan time.

"It was ne'er astir not wanting to win, not wanting to work," he adds. "For sure, they wanted to go champions and they wanted to springiness everything."

Rangers were incapable to equine a akin situation this season, pinch Clement leaving them 13 points adrift successful nan Premiership and retired of nan Scottish Cup.

Interim caput coach Barry Ferguson did return nan Ibrox broadside a information further successful nan Europa League, but they ended nan play without a trophy.

Regardless, Clement believes Rangers are now amended placed to win because of nan signings made during his tenure and nan improvement of those players.

"Nicolas Raskin made a really bully evolution," he says. "A batch of clubs are willing successful him. But you besides person Jefte, Hamza Igamane, Clinton Nsiala, who will person a amended value. Mohamed Diomande is besides 1 of those guys.

"The nine has worked good nan past twelvemonth successful that way. There are now 4 aliases 5 players pinch nan worth to waste and respective teams would salary bully amounts of money.

"The nine needs to build pinch that, aliases nan caller owners person to opportunity 'we don't do it that measurement now because we person capable money'."

What do you make of Clement's comments, Rangers fans?

Was nan League Cup last decisive? Should nan committee person shown much patience? Do nan nine person 4 aliases 5 sellable assets?

Let america cognize here