Philippe Clement rescued Rangers from drifting out of the title race, but fans “ain’t seen nothing yet” according to his former boss, who reckons he’s tailor made for England’s top flight. The Light Blues reeled in Celtic at the top after the Belgian;s arrival, wiping out a seven point gap to go top of the pile. They’re currently a point behind with a game in hand after last Sunday’s trip to Dundee ended up being a washout due to the waterlogged Dens Park pitch. But with two Old Firm clashes still to come, both have their Premiership title destiny in their own hands. Erik Gerits was Genk assistant boss when birthday boy Clement, 50, was a hard working midfielder in Belgium, and the main man as CEO when the Ibrox gaffer returned to the club to take charge. Gerits knew when Clement was still lacing up his own boots that he was made for management and doesn’t think Rangers will be the pinnacle of his time on the touchline.”I’ve always liked Philippe as a footballer, and a coach ? but most of all as a man,” he told the Scottish Sun.

“What’s the saying in English? You ain’t seen nothing yet? Well, I would say to the Rangers fans that he ain’t finished yet, because there’s a lot more to come from Philippe in his career. He’s just 50, that’s still young. He will have ambitions as a coach, even though it has been going well at Rangers since he moved to Scotland. “I can easily see him coaching a club in the Premier League in England? 100 per cent I can visualise that “I would also have no hesitation in saying he would succeed there if it happened. Clement has the talent and the quality. “As a person, Philippe does things correctly. When he was a player at Genk he called me while I was on holiday in Turkiye to tell me he had the chance to go to Coventry City, and he was going to do it. “And when I had Covid a couple of years ago, he sent me a message saying he had seen the news on TV and that he wished me well. That’s the kind of person he is. “I’ve been in dressing rooms with Philippe and he’s normally quite calm. But when he does get angry it’s to motivate players, not to break them.” “I first knew him when he was a player in the side and I was in the backroom staff. Philippe was a midfielder, a No 6 or No 8 in the modern day description.

“Technically he wasn’t the best player, but he was what we call a significant player. He was intelligent and he had what it took to dictate games. “When he was a player at Genk we were runners-up in the league in 1998, the first time we had ever finished that high, and we also won the Belgian Cup. It was the first time the club had reached the final and we were big underdogs, but we beat Brugge 4-0. “When Philippe had been at high school he was a very intelligent student, and he had that same sort of intelligence on the pitch “He was a natural leader and you could see that he would become a coach one day. When he moved into coaching he came to us in 2017 from Beveren, and did well right away. The team got to the final of the Belgian Cup in his first season, and we won the title in his second year. The football was very attractive and effective and it got him a lot of attention. “And after Clement won the title he moved to Bruges. He was actually the league-winning coach here in Belgium three years in a row, once with Genk, and then twice with Club Brugge. As a coach he ticked every box. He’s among the cleverest trainers I’ve ever seen firsthand, and certainly the best Genk have had. Philippe could motivate players, he was good when he spoke to the fans, the Belgian media liked him. He was good tactically and he liked to develop young players and put them in the side. “Leandro Trossard, who is now at Arsenal, was one of the ones who was part of that title-winning squad. It was important that we were able to develop our own players for the first team because Genk doesn’t have a rich owner backing us.”We have to find good young players, and they help us compete in European competitions.

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