Yahoo Sports Rangers' Clement on pressure, Old Trafford & Igamane
Scottish Cup: Rangers v Fraserburgh
Venue: Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow Date: Sunday, 19 January Time: 14:15 GMT
Coverage: Watch on BBC One Scotland & iPlayer, listen on BBC Radio Scotland & Sounds, follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app
It's unclear what noise cancellation equipment Philippe Clement uses as Rangers manager, but judging by his forceful and positive demeanour in a one-to-one conversation on Friday afternoon, it's got to be some seriously powerful tech.
While many Rangers fans and former players voice disapproval at the way the season has gone for the club - 13 points behind Celtic in the league on the back of a dreadful away record sparking protests and a walkout - Clement is largely unmoved and totally focused on what he calls, 'the project'.
The next chapters are Sunday's Scottish Cup visit of Fraserburgh - currently ninth in the Highland League - followed on Thursday by a match at the other end of the football world - away to Manchester United in what has been an excellent Europa League campaign.
Clement treats questions in the manner of a batsman at the crease, knocking everything to the boundaries, refusing to show that the flak being thrown at him is making a blind bit of difference. He was direct and uncompromising and focused on his mission.
Is this the most challenging time of his professional life? "No, I've been a player also," he says, swatting away the notion.
The calls for his sacking - is it a lonely existence at this level? "No, totally not," he counters. "I have a lot of staff around me and we work really closely, day and night. I have my wife here. I don't see her that much, but no, it's totally not a lonely job.
"You can make it lonely if you're only sticking to your own thoughts and you lose yourself in that way but I'm somebody who likes to work together with people, not to be isolated on an island with my own thoughts."
And his wife picks him up when he gets down? "No, you don't have to pick me up," he explains. "I'm not that type of guy. The more challenge there is, the more motivated I am."
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'I don't like to be the underdog'
He talks of Thursday night in Manchester where Rangers will be underdogs, yes? "No, I don't like to be the underdog, to be honest," he responds. "I like that my players are favourites, at least in their heads. If you're the underdog you don't take control of the game, you don't believe in yourself. I don't want my players to feel like underdogs. I want them to be like fighters who believe they can win the fight and that's what we're going to try to do."
Clement doesn't come across like a man under fire, which he unquestionably is, externally if not internally. He says he knew from the start this was going to be tough and that no shortcuts existed, no war chest to make life easier.
"The club had a plan to make things better than in these last 10-12 years and it's a long-term plan," he says. "I know a lot of people who are not working for the club think shorter but you need to look long-term and this is the hardest part, the start of it.
"You see already some some fruits growing. We got a lot of criticism about getting players like Hamza [Igamane]. He never played at this level. Or Jefte and Clinton Nsiala. They never played at this level but people start to see now why we brought them in.
"And that story will continue in the next months and the next years because that's what the club needs, to have a drastic change and not to have only short-term."
And what of Igamane, his prized possession who's banging them in at an impressive rate - 12 in his past 14 games. Has he got the pitchforks at the ready for any would-be suitors? "It needs to be a win-win situation," Clement explains. "We're not at the top of the food chain, we know that. But it needs to be the right moment for the club and for the player.
"I don't think he's ready to make the next step. It's important for him to be in a consistent environment and it's really good here."
If Igamane keeps going the way he is, there's only going to be one outcome sooner or later - and that's an exit to a bigger league as part of the much talked about, but rarely seen, Rangers' player trading model.
"You need to develop players and sell them afterwards to bigger competitions for a good price," says Clement. "That business model was not there the last couple of years and people were putting money in but the club was not getting money back in sales and it's not healthy. We don't want to go to the same situation as 12 years ago (financial collapse), so this is the only way we can do it."
If this is a joyless grind set against the backdrop of fans in revolt over inconsistent - and occasionally awful - away performances in the league then Clement doesn't seem to carry that baggage.
How can it be fun? "Oh, there's a lot of fun," the Belgian enthuses. "You're a journalist, you only speak about the negative things. We had a lot of positive moments this season.
"There was a fantastic atmosphere against Celtic when we won and at that game against Tottenham and in our other European games at home. We came very close to winning the first trophy of the season.
"We have now 34 points out of 36 league points at home, so a lot of good things have happened. It's true about the away games. We didn't take enough points and the demands are really big. This club is about winning. That's also what I am about.
"I want to win everything, so I understand when we don't win people are not happy. I'm not happy. We still have a lot of work to do. I'm not somebody who runs away."
From Fraserburgh at home to Manchester United away - football in all its contrasting glory. Thursday's is a meeting of two giants trying to find their way while overshadowed for years by their city rivals. The comparisons end there, says Clement.
"I don't think we can make a comparison if you see what they have spent the last couple of years and what we have spent," he says. "They're spending a lot. We're spending, er, not much, but we're trying to find really young talents to develop them to make them better."
The last time Clement was in the dugout at Old Trafford he was manager at Club Brugge in the 2019-20 season. Having drawn 1-1 in Belgium, they got an early red card in Manchester and lost 5-0. "We expect another scenario on Thursday," he says, with a half-smile.
