I’m not a quitter – Philippe Clement won’t walk away from Rangers

Philippe Clement insists he is “not a quitter” as he continues to fend off pressure at Rangers.

The Belgian won the Premier Sports Cup soon after taking over as Gers boss in October 2023 but that has proved to be the high point of his tenure to date.

Rangers – with three away wins in 11 – sit 15 points behind William Hill Premiership leaders Celtic, who could make it 18 against Dundee on Tuesday night, with a section of disgruntled Light Blues fans walking out of Sunday’s 3-1 win over St Johnstone at Ibrox in protest at new chief executive Patrick Stewart’s public backing of the manager.

The spotlight on Clement follows him into Wednesday’s home game against Aberdeen, and he was asked if he could envisage anything happening in the coming weeks that could make him quit.

“No, no, never,” said the Gers manager, who revealed skipper James Tavernier and Leon Balogun were back in training and would be assessed.

“I am not a quitter. I am somebody who knows what he really wants and we’re going to get that together.

“I am not happy with the away record, totally not, and I am focused on making that better.

“And I also don’t want to forget about all the other things, like our home record and keeping it that way.

“I am only busy with that and, together with Patrick and Nils (Koppen, technical director), we are discussing everything that can help to make our squad better.

“Is it with players? Recruitment? Transfers? Staff? Is it with infrastructure? It’s all of those things and that’s what I’m busy with every second that my eyes are open every day.”

The former Club Brugge boss and Belgium international has faced significant challenges in Govan as the moving of financial goalposts in the summer affected recruitment, key positions in the boardroom have only recently been filled and a growing injury list has affected form in recent months.

“The bigger the challenge, the more hungry I am in life,” he said.

“I think a lot of people realise that a lot of things changed here that made things more complicated in the last couple of months, but it makes the challenge only bigger to get where you want to get.

“It’s good now that everybody’s aligned and has the same plan towards getting there. So that’s crucial.

“I’m a winner and I’ve always been. When I was young, nobody believed I would become a professional football player, and when I was a professional football player, nobody believed that I would get into the national team.

“So it’s about taking the best out of every second of the day and to be hungry every morning that you wake up, to get the best out of that day and to become better and to make people better around you.

“That’s my ambition every day. So that will never change.”

Clement revealed he had to choose between tennis and football as a youngster and insists he has never hankered for the racket instead of the boots.

He said “No, no totally not. And I love tennis too.

“I watch the Netflix series about the tennis players (Break Point) and I know I made the right choice.

“I see how they are alone, or maybe only with two or three people. They travel all over the world like that, staying in a hotel room.

“I am happy to be surrounded with so many engaged people. There are so many challenges but I know I made the right decision. I am sure about that.”