CHIEF EXECUTIVE James Bisgrove believes ‘winner’ Philippe Clement has all the qualities required to succeed as Rangers manager.
The experienced Belgian met the media for the first time as he outlined his Ibrox vision, desire to deliver silverware, and the importance of the Rangers supporters in the team’s journey.
Bisgrove also fielded questions on the process which led to Clement’s appointment as the 19th permanent manager of the Light Blues, detailing the club’s need for stability as they target success on all four fronts this season.
Speaking to the media alongside Clement this afternoon, the chief executive commented: “We placed a strong emphasis on leadership, character, man-management, and we aligned that also with the football criteria you would expect, the football methodology and identity, but also we wanted a manager that had a strong track record as a winner and experience in the game, that could handle everything that comes with being the manager at this football club.
“That was the criteria that we entered into in the process over the two weeks; the first round of the interviews, the second round, the final stages, as we progressed the process, as we had more detailed conversations.
“We spent a lot of hours together in London and then Brussels, and Philippe got a chance as well to talk to our investors in the USA and in Asia.
“It became more and more apparent that for us and for the board that Philippe was the standout candidate in terms of the criteria that we felt was really important.
“We had a very open two-way conversation with Philippe and all the candidates to understand if they would be suitable to that criteria.
“We found very quickly from the data that we had already accumulated that we understood what Philippe's track record was as a manager; winning the league title with Genk, Club Brugge and then again with them.
“The initial impact he had at Monaco, his experience in the Champions League group stages and Europa League knockout stages, that pedigree was clear.”
Clement will quickly rally the squad for their return to Scottish Premiership action at home to Hibernian on Saturday afternoon, with four trophies still up for grabs this campaign.
Bisgrove, however, also emphasised the importance of stability for the club, with the appointment of the 49-year-old made with long-term ambitions in mind.
He continued: “The club doesn't have a track record of changing managers frequently in its 151 years of history. We've had 19 permanent managers.
“The success that we've had as a football club has been built on that stability, and that's why Philippe is here and has chosen Rangers.
“We believe that there's a lot to play for this season; we're still in all four competitions, 30 games to play in the league, semi-finals of the League Cup, we've won the Scottish Cup 34 times, and we're playing European football.
“We believe there will be short, medium and long-term objectives, and we hope to have success with Philippe as our manager.
“We went through a process that was multi-layered and undertook a lot of due diligence and took our time with the board to get this appointment right. We had a very clear vision in terms of the characteristics that we wanted the next Rangers manager to have, and the board were unanimous that Philippe was the outstanding candidate in that process.
“This is a long-term appointment, but Rangers is about winning; there is a lot of football to be played this season.
“I know that Philippe and the squad will be giving it everything that they have got for this to be a successful season, but absolutely we are looking forward to working with Philippe in the short, medium and long term.”