Before Philippe Clement was hired by the Rangers, Keith Jackson claims that he was “high up” on the list of Ange Postecoglou’s replacements at Celtic.
The Belgian was still employed by Monaco at the time, and the “fat tax free wedge” he was making “may have proved problematic” to negotiations at Parkhead, according to a Daily Record journalist who wrote on December 4. However, the manager of the Gers was on a “very short” list of potential possibilities for the Hoops.
Ultimately Celtic decided to bring back Brendan Rodgers after Postecoglou departed for Tottenham but Clement was reportedly a person of “considerable interest” across Glasgow.
After Rodgers reportedly lost the dressing room at the Ligue 1 club, the Ibrox coach was fired from Monaco shortly after, and Jackson indicated he would prefer to part with a substantial portion of his current team.
If it’s possible that Clement was on the opposite bench, this discovery will provide even more drama to his debut Old Firm game on December 30.
Many Rangers fans and probably some members of the hierarchy will be wishing they had also been contemplating their present manager at the time, given the obvious damage done by Michael Beale’s summer revamp.
Despite his perplexing dedication to the underachieving Sam Lammers, Clement’s impact at Ibrox has been mainly beneficial since his arrival.
He had significantly improved things before the consecutive draws with Aberdeen and Aris Limassol, but it appears that the new manager bounce is wearing off.
Nevertheless, he has a chance to take home a trophy this season before Rodgers does, since the Viaplay Cup final versus the Dons is just two weeks away on December 17.
However, it appears likely that what can be done in January at this point will determine whether he has any chance of beating the Northern Irishman in the SPFL in the end.
