'I had bad feeling after League Cup final' - Clement on his Rangers demise

"I had a feeling, a atrocious feeling, aft the League Cup final."

The passing of 4 months has afforded Philippe Clement clip to bespeak connected his turbulent 16-month reign arsenic Rangers manager.

Distance from Glasgow, and the febrile situation successful which helium became engulfed, has allowed him to pinpoint 1 peculiar crippled that helium believes marked the opening of the extremity of his clip successful complaint astatine Ibrox.

Mid-December 2024. Pressure is building. Rangers are 9 points down Celtic. Only a bid of bully Europa League results are keeping the dogs astatine bay.

Just 3 days earlier the season's archetypal home silverware is awarded, Clement's broadside gain different of those successful a creditable 1-1 gully with Tottenham Hotspur.

Then to Hampden, with Celtic dense favourites to wrest backmost the League Cup.

Rangers, however, spell toe-to-toe with them and are denied a spot-kick earlier losing connected penalties pursuing a 3-3 draw.

"I deliberation it was a captious game," Clement tells BBC Sport Scotland.

"If we had won, determination would person been much patience with the fans besides and the committee could person stayed overmuch calmer."

But Rangers did not and Clement endured a wintertime of highs and lows earlier being relieved of his duties pursuing an abject decision by St Mirren astatine Ibrox successful February.

In the week that Russell Martin was appointed his full-time successor, the Belgian talks to BBC Sport Scotland astir cutting costs, recruitment, mentality and the players helium near behind.

Every manager wants patience - and fewer get it. But Clement arguably got much than predecessors Michael Beale and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

After all, neither of them suffered the ignominy of a Scottish Cup location decision by second-tier Queen's Park.

Protesting that his squad needed clip to make and turn became a regular refrain of Clement's and the passing of clip has not changed his presumption connected that.

"It's a pity that the communicative stopped, that the committee didn't person the patience, oregon possibly listened excessively overmuch to immoderate fans," helium says.

"There are different clubs wherever determination is simply a hard infinitesimal and everybody sticks unneurotic due to the fact that everybody knows the story, however the enactment is done wrong the building, and they proceed and they are palmy afterwards.

"In 3 oregon 4 windows, we could person closed the spread [to Celtic] with a bully improvement of players, but the determination is made and you request to judge it."

As Rangers tried to assuage swingeing losses, Clement's task was to usurp Celtic but with a diminishing budget.

Was helium initially misled astir what funds mightiness beryllium disposable to him?

"No, not misled, but I recognize present why," helium says. "Because immoderate radical were already reasoning astir selling the nine and selling their stocks.

"I deliberation you request to spell backmost to 1 twelvemonth ago. The communicative was that the nine was not financially sustainable anymore, truthful that was the communicative of the transportation window."

Clement says helium and the recruitment squad were told they could walk immoderate wealth the nine were capable to recoup successful subordinate income and from cutting wage spend.

But, contempt taking "more than 35%" from the wage bill, an ageing squad, contracts expiring, and a deficiency of charismatic young talent, meant the output proved meagre.

"You summation wealth by bringing young players in, making them amended and selling them," Clement says. "That was the idea. There was not different roadworthy to take.

"In the end, it's astir deciding if the thought we had was working. You request patience to physique it oregon you request to walk money. It's 1 of the two.

"Without 1 of the two, it's an intolerable job."

It had each started truthful well.

Rangers were 7 points down Celtic erstwhile Michael Beale mislaid his occupation astatine the extremity of September 2023.

But from Clement taking implicit until the extremity of February, their lone league nonaccomplishment came astatine Celtic Park. That tally ended with the Ibrox broadside 2 wide astatine the top.

Things began to spell awry soon after, though. A location decision by Motherwell. A first-ever nonaccomplishment to Ross County. Then a gully astatine Dundee.

Celtic ne'er looked backmost aft that arsenic Rangers' mentality and inability to interruption teams down began to beryllium questioned.

"I don't hold with that," Clement says of the second criticism. "In moments, it was truly good, but successful moments not.

"It's much a communicative astir consistency, astir having the request - physically and mentally - to beryllium acceptable for that each 3 days.

"In the end, the squad was not ready. There were excessively galore players who had ne'er done this before."

Clement besides bridles astatine proposition mentality was an issue.

Mentioning the slip-ups against County and Dundee, helium points retired that "two players who were not bully successful those games" near astatine the extremity of the play and were possibly distracted by discussions with different clubs astatine the time.

"It was ne'er astir not wanting to win, not wanting to work," helium adds. "For sure, they wanted to go champions and they wanted to springiness everything."

Rangers were incapable to equine a akin situation this season, with Clement leaving them 13 points adrift successful the Premiership and retired of the Scottish Cup.

Interim caput manager Barry Ferguson did instrumentality the Ibrox broadside a circular further successful the Europa League, but they ended the play without a trophy.

Regardless, Clement believes Rangers are present amended placed to win due to the fact that of the signings made during his tenure and the improvement of those players.

"Nicolas Raskin made a truly bully evolution," helium says. "A batch of clubs are funny successful him. But you besides person Jefte, Hamza Igamane, Clinton Nsiala, who volition person a amended value. Mohamed Diomande is besides 1 of those guys.

"The nine has worked good the past twelvemonth successful that way. There are present 4 oregon 5 players with the worth to merchantability and respective teams would wage bully amounts of money.

"The nine needs to physique with that, oregon the caller owners person to accidental 'we don't bash it that mode present due to the fact that we person capable money'."

What bash you marque of Clement's comments, Rangers fans?

Was the League Cup last decisive? Should the committee person shown much patience? Do the nine person 4 oregon 5 sellable assets?

Let america cognize here