He acknowledges that he wouldn’t get in the way of the Belgian’s work.
On Sunday night, Graeme Souness and Philippe Clement performed together at Glasgow’s Armadillo. But for the time being, that’s probably as close as the two will come.
When chairman John Bennett first proposed the notion, there have been persistent rumours that the man who ignited a Rangers revolution in the 1980s may finally make his long-awaited return to Ibrox. Souness has been back in the city for the past several days, but he made it clear yesterday that he will not be accepting the offer of a long-term position in the club’s leadership.
Furthermore, he acknowledges that even if he had a hand in the process that resulted in Clement’s appointment earlier this season, he wouldn’t touch the Belgian’s position with a bargepole. When asked what he thought of Clement’s first six months in his former position, Souness responded, “He has been fantastic.” He was amazing, and I was with him at something in the Armadillo.
“Those who were having some difficulty are responding extremely differently to him. When Michael Beale was the manager, I watched them play against Aberdeen when they were defeated at home. “Whoever comes next has a job on his hands,” I thought to myself.
He has, nonetheless, fulfilled your duties as a new manager. You can’t just walk in and make all the changes at once. However, you want to elicit a different note out of them, and he has succeeded in doing so.
Shortly after Beale was fired, Souness was voluntarily drawn into the search for a new boss, as Record Sport first reported. After his involvement in the interview process, Souness was designated for a more permanent position as a board advisor.
However, Souness has officially stated that he would not be making an official comeback to his former haunt, even if he hasn’t provided any specifics. He said, sounding a little terse, “That’s been and gone.” We discussed it, but it won’t take place. I won’t go into further detail.
Besides, he seemed to be quite content to watch Clement operate from a distance at the age of seventy. Souness went on, “I didn’t assign him. During the interview procedure, I was the same as everyone else. And he made a great impression. He did a great job in the interview, and his resume was excellent—the finest one we had to look at. His presentation received a ten out of ten from me. However, he disclosed to me last night that it was his very first presentation.
All in all, it was really stunning. He has a remarkable personality. Despite his belief that he doesn’t, he speaks English fluently. He simply has an amazing way with him. He has the ability to hold a space. I constantly find myself thinking back to my playing days when I hear a manager speak. “Will I listen to him if I’m in the dressing room?” is the thought that crosses my mind.
“That was definitely the case during the interview; I felt like this is a man I could get along with.”
“I told him this work is unlike anything else when we were speaking during the interview. I’m Scottish, and when I was younger, I think I visited Ibrox eight times. I also played football for Scotland and major league teams.
However, none of that readied me for my role as Rangers manager. It’s a unique profession with distinctive obstacles. Every game is supposed to be won by you. To me, it was shocking.
For some folks, drawing a game can be a bit of a mess. I gave him an explanation of that. “If you do it correctly, this will be the best job you have ever had,” I added. On the down side, you may consider it your “worst job” if things don’t work out.
That’s what managing the Rangers requires. Win at all costs—you simply must prevail. It is not acceptable to declare, “We have had a good season,” after placing second in May. The supporters don’t think that was a terrific season. I soon understood that.
Furthermore, Souness thinks that Clement’s current assignment is far bigger than the one he faced upon arriving from Sampdoria in 1986 and completely changing the Scottish football environment. “His job is far harder than the one I had,” he remarked. I was working with a budget. At the time, we had more money than all the English clubs combined.
“We were a wealthy club and we could compete, but they were banned from Europe.” What a statement it was to have Terry Butcher, the current captain of England, involved. That served as the impetus for what we did.
“We acquired him, as desired by Man United and Spurs. Following that, everything made it really simple for me to approach players and persuade them to visit Glasgow.
In contrast, Clement must navigate the European market to assemble a team that is considered capable of winning. But in just six months, he has taken up Beale’s mess and moved Rangers two points clear of the leaders in the standings with nine league games left.
And despite Saturday’s home loss to Motherwell, Souness thinks Clement is going to complete the task he began by regaining the title. “I think he has got a great chance,” he stated.
Graeme Souness was advertising Viaplay’s live, exclusive coverage of Sunday’s games between the Celtics and Livingston, as well as Hibernians and Rangers. Viaplay can be streamed from viaplay.com or as an add-on subscription through your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV, and Amazon Prime.
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