An ex-Rangers employee misinterprets the situation as Philippe Clement averts a disastrous season.

Neil Banfield may wish to think that Philippe Clement’s Ibrox comeback was sparked by the coaching staff of Michael Beale, who is leaving.

However, to any eyewitness, Rangers’ performance under the now-Sunderland manager was rapidly deteriorating as supporter feeling shifted and the Belgian replaced the former QPR coach.

Philippe Clement, who was recently crowned January’s Manager of the Month, deserves praise for closing the Premiership deficit to only 0 points and preparing Rangers for a formidable season.

But as if by clockwork, one of the previous men has reappeared to take credit for guiding the fine ship Rangers away from the brink of Scottish footballing obscurity.

Neil Banfield: The seeds of Philippe Clement’s advancement were sown.

While Michael Beale and company oversaw a massive change in the summer, it would be quite audacious to say that the team was headed for anything other than disappointment this season.

Rangers have won a League Cup, advanced to the Europa League knockout stages as group winners, and, with a game remaining, whittled down an eight-point deficit to three since Philippe Clement took over.

Nevertheless, based on Neil Banfield’s remarks, we are meant to assume that the majority of the effort and labor was completed prior to the Belgian’s arrival.

Banfield told Football Scotland, “The work the manager’s doing now, I’m not saying he’s not done some good work, but it was done by the work we’d previously done.”

“You look at (Roberto) de Zerbi at Brighton; he’s doing excellent things, but the work and foundations that he’s building were laid a long time ago by (Graham) Potter.

It’s how you end up at a club, sometimes. Michael undoubtedly lay the groundwork, but good luck to Clement, who took over and made some significant adjustments. Who knows what we could have accomplished.

“It may irritate certain supporters that they forget that, but you can understand it since football isn’t the only thing that motivates them; you know that once you walk in, you have to deal with it. The outcomes of both clubs, I believe, determine the role and how it is maintained.

A betrayal of the success of the Rangers manager?

It is an insult to the brains of supporters to imply that the season under Michael Beale, Neil Banfield, Harry Watling, and Damien Matthew was anything but disastrous.

Rangers had already lost to Aberdeen, Celtic, and Kilmarnock; they were also blowing their Europa League group, and every player on the field was a shell of their former selves.

The place stunk due to the lack of communication between the players, management, and supporters, and it is almost absurd to think that Rangers would have had success under Beale.

It’s a total rewriting of the reality of the situation with Clement transforming the feeling at Rangers in a matter of months.

In a few of weeks, he also removed silverware that Beale & Co. had neglected to do for a whole year. There’s no assurance that Beale would have defeated the Dons at Hampden either, considering the 3-1 loss at Ibrox that led to his dismissal.

When you consider the highly publicized critiques leveled at the team’s medical department and Europa League selection, it becomes evident that the new Rangers manager had challenges to overcome rather than help from others.

Indeed, Beale guided us through a summer of change, but as soon as he started to lose the patience of the irate Ibrox supporters, his appointment fell apart.

Neil Banfield may disagree, but Philippe Clement alone is deserving of recognition for his contribution to the Ibrox revival.

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