'Total chaos' - Clement reflects on 'frustrating' Rangers stint

Philippe Clement's Rangers tenure lasted 16 months

Former Rangers manager Philippe Clement says his time at Ibrox was hamstrung by "total chaos" at boardroom level.

The Belgian coach succeeded Michael Beale in October 2023 and won the League Cup later that season.

He also overhauled Celtic at the summit of the Scottish Premiership during his first season in charge, only to lose against Motherwell, Ross County and Celtic themselves during the run-in, missing out on the title by eight points.

Celtic also pipped them to the Scottish Cup thanks to a last-minute Adam Idah goal.

Clement's first summer in charge was then characterised by upheaval off the pitch.

Chief executive James Bisgrove left for a role in the Middle East, chairman John Bennett stepped down for health reasons and Rangers started the season at Hampden Park because of a late shipment of materials for development works on the Copland Stand at Ibrox.

"That's the frustration, the frustrating part of the story," Clement told BBC Scotland's Sacked in the Morning podcast.

"The first seven months, everybody was really happy about what happened in the club. There was a big change.

"But after that, a lot of things changed in the club and it became quite chaotic.

"I never had a club or saw a club where you don't have all these positions filled during a season for six or seven months. So a lot of things happened."

Clement was frustrated by a lack of communication from those in senior positions as he was left to address questions about the club's off-field issues.

He says discussions were had over the summer about the long-term project required to take on Celtic, but feels the board were unwilling to express that to supporters.

"They said we know we don't have the money that Celtic has for the moment," Clement added.

"It was quite an old squad. So we know we're going to need four, five, maybe six transfer windows to gain money and to close this gap with Celtic.

"And it starts with getting young players in, develop them, make them better and sell them to build the club again where it should be.

"I think the board was afraid to say these things towards the fans because they were already very angry about the stadium issue.

"I was the only one speaking in the club because there was nobody any more."

The club has since been taken over by a US-based consortium led by private healthcare tycoon Andrew Cavenagh, but Clement feels that instability at the top of the club was a fundamental reason behind Celtic's on-field dominance during his time at Rangers.

"There was a big difference about everything around the team, even maybe a bigger difference than on the pitch," he said, when asked about the gap between the Old Firm clubs.

"In preparation, in everything around the club, Celtic is much more organised than Rangers.

"And I was there for sure in these seven months where there was total chaos at Rangers."

'Disrespected' & 'angry' about nature of sacking

Clement's League Cup triumph is Rangers' only piece of silverware in the past three seasons

Clement was dismissed in February 2025 following a league defeat by St Mirren, a result which left Rangers 13 points behind Celtic.

He had also suffered a humiliating Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Championship side Queen's Park earlier that month.

The former Belgium defender revealed that he was informed of the decision by journalists before the club relieved him of his duties, an incident which angered him.

"It felt really empty," Clement said. "I was also angry that moment because all the journalists knew before me.

"I got a lot of messages from Scotland, England and Belgium even, before I get a message from the club, so I was not happy with that. That's not good.

"I told them also that it was totally disrespectful, that moment.

"But I felt really empty because you build something together in your full day and night with everything in the club.

"And I had to do much more than you normally should do as a manager in the months before when these positions were not filled in."