Alastair Johnston continues to be impressed by Rangers boss Philippe Clement

Alastair Johnston has become “more and more convinced” about Philippe Clement since the Belgian came through a Rangers interrogation to become manager.

The 49-year-old former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss was one of several potential candidates who threw their hats in the ring last October when Michael Beale departed the Govan club.

After impressing the Ibrox board to earn a deal until the summer of 2027, Clement has rejuvenated the Light Blues and their supporters.

The Viaplay Cup returned to Ibrox for the first time since 2011 with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen in the Hampden Park final in December, a place in the last 16 of the Europa League was secured and the Gers continue to chase down cinch Premiership leaders Celtic, currently sitting five points behind with a game in hand.

Rangers non-executive director and former Gers chairman Johnston, 75, who is based in the USA, told the PA news agency that Clement stood up to some severe scrutiny before he took charge but the appointment is looking increasingly positive.

He said: “The process Philippe had to go through before he joined the club, before we signed off on him was probably as thorough as I’ve ever experienced.

“We can’t deny that there has maybe been a couple of short-sighted decisions in the past, but this time we all had a chance to participate at the board level.

“From my standpoint, it’s my way of doing things. I don’t interview people. I interrogate them.

“That can sometimes be a fairly, in-your-face experience.

“It was a very healthy, very candid, two-way conversation. He correlated his expectations and ambitions with Rangers and we found out he does his homework carefully with respect to what the expectations were for Rangers as well as what the limitations were, and that was a big tick mark.

“Since my first engagement with him, albeit the first one was on Zoom because of geographical reasons, I’ve been with him quite a lot personally.

“I was there for the first several games and with every day that went by, I became more and more convinced that we’ve done the right thing.

“It seems like it’s been there for a long, long time. From the board’s perspective, the fact that he’s done what he has done in a relatively short period of time, makes it even more impressive.

“We’re playing a little bit of catch up right now, but we are very appreciative that most of the supporters are giving us a chance. If we don’t deliver in the long term then we will hear about it.

“But at this point in time, all I can say is I’ve got a lot of confidence. But it’s football. We are not in there with any guarantees, on or off the field.

“I’ve been around a long time and know that in football you’re only as good as your next result. So I’m never ever going to be presumptuous.”