Glasgow Rangers are still in the hunt for a new permanent manager following the sacking of Michael Beale a few weeks ago due to a poor start to the campaign.
Across 14 matches, the Gers won only eight, and they failed to secure qualification to the Champions League group stages while suffering an underwhelming defeat to Celtic in the Premiership.
A 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen proved to be the final straw for the 43-year-old as the Light Blues slipped seven points adrift of their bitter rivals in the hunt for the title and the new manager has a massive task on his hands.
Who will be the next Rangers manager?
There have been numerous names linked with the vacant role since Beale lost his job earlier this month, yet the vast majority were never likely to make the cut.
The two clear frontrunners however are Kevin Muscat and Philippe Clement and journalist Chris Jack has provided a recent update on the position.
He said: “Rangers will continue discussions with Philippe Clement and Kevin Muscat into the weekend."
It looked as though the new man would be unveiled by the end of the week, yet the board are clearly taking their time over such an important decision.
Whoever it is, James Bisgrove needs to back the manager sufficiently and give him plenty of time to build up a rapport with the players while developing his own style of play and identity on the pitch.
Both managers in question have enjoyed success during their respective careers and would be interesting options to take the helm at the Glasgow side.
Clement has perhaps the slightly better CV however and this could put him at an advantage with regard to taking over from Beale and becoming the 19th permanent manager in Rangers history.
What would Philippe Clement bring to Rangers?
The 49-year-old has an extensive managerial career which has seen him secure three league titles in Belgium, claiming one with KRC Genk and two at Club Brugge.
Indeed, these titles were all won across three successive seasons and at both clubs, he averaged 1.96 points per game, an impressive total.
While Beale lacked any sort of tactical philosophy during his time at the Gers, Clement tends to operate with a 4-4-2 and likes to play attacking football, especially judging by how many goals his teams like to score.
Indeed, across 310 matches, Clement has seen his sides score 611 goals, which works out at 1.97 goals per game and the Ibrox faithful always enjoy watching attacking, fluent football.
73
1.73
127
1.96
82
1.96
22
1.41
His last spell in charge of AS Monaco didn’t exactly end happily as he was sacked after only 18 months in charge, yet he lost just 21 of the 73 matches he managed, and he has been out of work ever since.
Clement has experience at the highest level having played for Belgium at the 1998 World Cup and his achievements show that he has what it takes to build a title-winning team.
If he took the role at Rangers, he may need to rethink a few areas of the squad and use the January transfer window as an opportunity to bring some new faces to Glasgow and defender Ronnie Edwards should be one of those names on his list.
Will Rangers sign anyone in January?
During the summer transfer window, the Ibrox side were keeping tabs on Edwards with regard to potentially making a move for the youngster in a bid to bolster their squad depth.
It wasn’t just Rangers who were keen however, with West Ham United and Crystal Palace also noticing his potential, yet nothing ever materialised, and he remains at Peterborough United, until January at least.
Barry Fry clearly spotted his potential from a young age and dubbed him a “Rolls-Royce” while also saying: “Ronnie is money in the bank for the club. He’s a certainty to have an outstanding career in the game, but there’s no better place, and no better manager than Darren Ferguson, to help him develop quickly.
"We want to thrive and prosper in the Championship so selling our better players is not an option.”
At just 20 years old, Edwards would be an investment, and he’d be an upgrade on Ben Davies too.
How good is Ronnie Edwards?
During his maiden season at Rangers, Davies didn’t really live up to his £4m price tag. The defender ranked fifth for accurate passes per game while also 16th for tackles, seventh for interceptions and third for clearances per game, failing to really showcase his true abilities.
He has only featured for the club six times this term and Edwards may prove to be an upgrade on the former Liverpool centre-back.
The youngster ranked first across the whole Peterborough squad for accurate passes per game last season while also finishing fourth for tackles and second for both interceptions and clearances, indicating that he had a much bigger impact in his team than Davies did for Rangers.
Of course, Edwards was playing at League One level while Davies was featuring in the Scottish top flight, yet the 5 foot 10 defender is clearly destined for the top of the game and Clement should be eyeing him up as his first major signing should he take the role.
The young talent has started all 12 of Peterborough’s league matches this term and continued his rich vein of form by helping his side keep five clean sheets while he has won 60% of his total duels, demonstrating his impressive physicality at such a young age.
These are attributes which would allow him to shine in Scotland, as he would clearly have no problems dealing with the physical nature of the game north of the border.
January isn’t that far away and with trophies still to play for, the new manager must be given the backing of the board to improve the squad during the winter window.
Edwards wouldn’t just be a good signing for now, but also a wonderful prospect for the future and the Gers must get in there before he is lured by the riches of the Premier League.
