Philippe Clement lifts lid on new deal reasons - but makes stark admission on when best Rangers team will be ready

Rangers manager Philippe Clement has welcomed the security of a new four-year deal while admitting it could be December before his new Ibrox team fully beds in.

The Belgian completed his ninth summer signing this week although Dutch defender Robin Propper could have his debut delayed due to registration red tape as Rangers prepare to open their league programme against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday.  

Some other new faces could feature, including on-loan winger Vaclav Cerny, while Clement confirmed skipper James Tavernier will lead the team out despite recent speculation about his future. He also revealed £1.7m Moroccan signing Hamza Igamane is “not ready” for the current intensity of Rangers training and will also have to wait to make his debut.

"I am 200 per cent sure we will be much better in October, November and December and the months coming after," said the manager. "That is normal if you see how many players have left and joined, how many young players we have brought in who still need to learn things. In that way it is a squad with a lot of potential, more than last season with the things we still want to do.

“Does it mean tomorrow we will see the best Rangers better than last season? I think you will see some interesting things, I am confident about that. We are not there yet at our best, no. That’s asking the impossible."

Philippe Clement has penned a new contract at Rangers | SNS Group

Clement’s own long-term plans have become clearer after he signed a new contract that is set to keep him at Ibrox until the summer of 2028. It is a show of faith from both sides after a difficult summer in which the club have had to make hasty arrangements to play their opening home games at Hampden Park following a delay in steel arriving to complete renovations at Ibrox.

Several mainstays have also left the club as Clement seeks to rebuild a side capable of thwarting Celtic’s bid to win a fourth successive Scottish league title. He has been comforted by the level of commitment shown by Rangers and has responded in kind by agreeing to extend his stay. He suggested he had gained sufficient confidence that he will be permitted time to complete his Ibrox revolution. 

“That was also the reason of the contract, to do it from both sides,” he said. “It was not to get much more wages or something. That was not the idea. We really fast agreed about that, from both sides.

“There is more clarity, it is more secure to work for the longer term and that is also what a club needs, that is also what this club needs. It is what has been done in the past in other clubs.

“The most successful clubs in the world are the ones where the manager has five, six, seven, eight years, because there is consistency. If every year or every six months starts with a new story then it becomes difficult after a while, because what is the story in the end?”