Glasgow Rangers are currently searching for their third permanent manager since November 2021 and the Ibrox side are currently going through a crisis.
When Steven Gerrard left the Light Blues to take over at Aston Villa, the club were holders of the Premiership title and looked on course to retain their title.
Despite winning the Scottish Cup that same season while making another European showpiece – losing to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final – it has been a pretty dreadful two years.
First Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sacked after just a year in charge and he was replaced by Michael Beale in November 2022.
The former first-team assistant under Gerrard looked like the logical appointment at the time, but he too was sacked, this time just ten months down the line after a woeful start to the season.
Beale’s Gers lost to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League playoff round, while league defeats to Kilmarnock, Celtic and Aberdeen is clearly not the form which will lead the side to the title.
Steven Davis took interim charge of the club until a permanent manager is announced and the Ibrox hierarchy will be hoping the new boss is in charge following the international break.
Who will be the new manager of Rangers?
Of course, there has been a whole host of names being linked with the vacant role at Rangers and journalist Chris Jack has now offered a more concrete update on who will realistically be the next boss.
He said: “Rangers will continue discussions with Philippe Clement and Kevin Muscat into the weekend.”
These two are clearly the front runners for the vacant position and both would offer the club slightly different tactical styles.
Under Beale, the Gers failed to showcase any sort of identity on the pitch and this led to stagnation and poor results. Muscat and Clement have enjoyed plenty of success during their respective careers and this experience will stand them in good stead should they take the role.
The Belgian appears to have a slightly better CV than Muscat and this may give him a slight edge with regard to who will be the successful candidate.
What has Philippe Clement won as a manager?
The 49-year-old enjoyed a solid playing career, featuring mainly for Club Brugge while he even played for Belgium during the 1998 World Cup, indicating how experienced he is at the highest level.
He clearly took these attributes and forged a solid managerial career, starting off with a spell at Bevern before enjoying his first real success with KRC Genk. Clement secured the league title during the 2018/19 season before being poached by his former alumni and led Brugge to two league crowns in a row.
AS Monaco lured him to France in January 2022 but the Belgian managed to average 2.03 points per game during his 146 matches in the Jupiler Pro League, losing just 25 of these games and it was a wonderful record.
His spell in Ligue 1 didn’t exactly go to plan, despite leading Monaco to sixth place during the 2022/23 season, and he was sacked at the end of the campaign, meaning he is a free agent.
If he is appointed, he will likely deploy a 4-2-2 formation which tends to be his favoured system to use, and the experienced coach will need to get a tune out of the vast majority of Rangers players as the confidence is at an all-time low.
He will surely be backed during the January transfer window too, and could use this to his advantage by signing a few new players to bolster the squad.
Clement will have his own targets, yet he should reignite the Light Blues’ move for Harry Souttar, who was linked with a move to Ibrox during the summer window.
Should Rangers sign Harry Souttar?
Back in August, journalist Geoff Peters claimed the Ibrox side were keen on luring Souttar to Scotland, saying: “Rangers are interested in taking Harry Souttar on loan from Leicester City. Souttar was an unused sub against Coventry at the weekend and not in the 20-man #lcfc squad tonight at Burton. Other clubs also monitoring the situation. His older brother John joined Rangers last year.”
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The £40k-per-week defender had enjoyed a solid six-month spell at Leicester City during the second half of the 2022/23 season, ranking third across the squad for clearances per game (3.8) and sixth for accurate passes per game (37.2), despite playing just 12 games for the Foxes and he looked like he could be a star for them in the Championship.
Statman Dave even praised his displays in the top flight, saying: “Harry Souttar has won 88% of his aerial duels in the Premier League so far this season, That’s more than any other player.
“Big man at the back.”
The Australian international has made just one league appearance this season, however, yet he has won 100% of his total duels during that tie, showcasing his physicality. It appears as though his future perhaps lies away from the club and this means Clement should try and secure his signature in January.
When compared to his positional peers in comparative leagues, Souttar ranks in the top 1% for clearances per 90 (6.43) and the top 10% for aerials won per 90 (3.78) and given that the Gers have conceded 16 goals so far this term, the side could do with someone at the back who is a physical beast like Souttar.
With the decision to appoint the new manager now not taking place until the start of next week at the earliest, whoever arrives has a few months until the transfer window opens.
Of course, there are plenty of summer targets who are still available and Clement may wish to go down this route in order to significantly bolster his playing squad.
Souttar has proven he can shine at Premier League level and getting the opportunity to challenge for trophies and play European football could be too good to turn down.
Much can happen between now and January, but the Light Blues need to improve across all areas of the pitch if they are to achieve success this season, with a signing such as Souttar likely to help get Ibrox rocking once again.
