Football: Philippe Clément is the new coach of Glasgow Rangers

Glasgow Rangers announced on Sunday the appointment of Belgian Philippe Clément as new coach with a three and a half year contract. Englishman Michael Beale was fired earlier this month as Rangers sit seven points behind Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Club chairman John Bennett has confirmed that former Rangers manager Graeme Souness had been part of the recruitment team tasked with interviewing candidates for the role. “Philippe proved to be the best candidate on all key criteria, reinforced by his record of victories and I wish him great success,” he assured.

“I am honored to have been appointed as the new manager of Rangers,” Clement, 49, was quoted as saying in a club statement. “I am very excited about the opportunity to succeed at one of Europe's most iconic clubs, across four competitions, for the remainder of the season and beyond,” he said. added.

Clément won three consecutive Belgian championship titles at the helm of Genk then Club Bruges between 2018 and 2021. He then spent a spell at Monaco between January 2022 and June 2023, but he left the club after finishing at the sixth place in Ligue 1 last season. His immediate task in Glasgow is to break Celtic's stranglehold on Scottish football.

Rangers' great rivals have won 11 of the last 12 Premiership titles and have taken a significant lead in the standings after just eight games this season. Rangers also have the chance to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League, despite an embarrassing 2-1 defeat against Aris Limassol in Cyprus earlier this month.

And Clement could quickly get his hands on a trophy, as his new team face Hearts of Midlothian in the League Cup semi-final next month. Rangers are the hot favorites to win the trophy, with holders Celtic already eliminated.