For every few steps that Rangers have taken forward during Philippe Clement’s year in Glasgow, he’s had to watch them stagger in reverse by just as many.
Inheriting a team whose title hopes appeared dead and buried this time 12 months ago, the Belgian boss looked to have marched them back into contention – only for his side to then stumble down the final straight. Victory in the League Cup was a much-needed morale booster – but the feel-good factor didn’t last as Celtic ran off with the Scottish Cup as Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops celebrated another dazzling Double.
And while there was an encouraging signs as Clement’s side mounted a Seville shock to bounce past Real Betis on their way to the last 16 of the Europa League last term, this season’s continental campaign has already fallen a little flat after bruising – and costly – defeats to Dynamo Kyiv and Lyon. But all those set-backs have done is to stiffen the Belgian’s determination to get the Ibrox club back walking tall as soon as possible.
Asked to sum up his year as Rangers boss, Clement – who celebrated the first anniversary of his appointment on Tuesday – grinned before cracking: “I need to be home at six! It’s a difficult one to discuss all of that, what happened in one year, in that time.
“But it’s good that we won a trophy along the way. I wanted more. We were close on more, but not good enough. We had to do a big rebuild in the club in every sense, on the pitch, off the pitch, so many things happened.
“So I’m putting every energy in that, day and night, to get this club back where it belongs. So the future is for me much more important than the past, in that way.
“There’s steps that have been made, but we still have to make several steps to get where we want to be. So that’s with staff, that’s with players, that’s with board, that’s with the investors, that’s with everybody together, making things better.
“I’ve seen steps made, I’ve seen also that we lost things along the way when people left. So now you need to rebuild again, with players, with people from outside of the staff. So in that way, it’s about working hard to improve.”
If Clement wanted excuses, he certainly wouldn’t be shy on reasons to explain away the fact a squad that has been overhauled with nine new faces this summer is only a single point better off than the shambles left behind by his predecessor Michael Beale at the same stage last term. No permanent chairman, no CEO, a stadium cock-up that saw his side locked out of Ibrox for the first month of the season, a never-ending list of injuries to key men.
All could reasonably be used as mitigating factors. But Clement said: “No, I don’t want to speak about limitations. I don’t want excuses, I don’t want any of that.
“This is a club where one ambition is to win the next game and every game. It’s my ambition also. So I don’t want to make any more comments about all those things.
“No, it’s about winning. And of course, you know there’s a process to get to winning, and you know what difficulties you can have when you rebuild things in such a big way. That you know, but it’s about winning and everybody needs to be focused on that and to make the process go as fast as possible. So all the energy on that.”
Clement’s side are certainly going to need all the stamina they can muster as they begin a hectic winter schedule. Between now and their final Europa League fixture at the end of January, Rangers are scheduled to play 24 matches. During that period, they have just four free midweeks – including two that come during the November international break.
The Ibrox club aren’t the only team affected. Europe’s top leagues and Fifpro, the global trade union for players, are currently embroiled in a legal dispute with FIFA over the increasing demands being made on the game’s top stars. For Clement, we’re reaching breaking point with what he describes as a “crazy schedule”.
“It’s the first time in the history of football there have been so many games, also without a winter break,” he said. “So for everybody in our business, in whatever country you’re working in – and for sure for teams who are playing in Europe – it’s a big difference compared to teams who are not playing European football.
“It’s going to be a challenge in that way. We’re working hard to educate the players around everything on how they take care of their bodies in the best way.
“For sure, something can be done [about the schedule]. I don’t think that anybody in the business thinks this is sustainable for years to come. But those are decisions made above our heads so we need to focus on our job and to get the players fit and to keep them fit.
“It’s not about having a winter break. It’s about how many games you have, how much recovery time you have in between. It’s not about me wanting to go on holidays with my wife and my kids at Christmas.
“It’s about physical and mental health. And I know a lot of top players have been complaining about that. I’ve seen also a lot of top players not going to the national team now and to not play the Nations League.
“In the future, maybe players will make even more decisions around that. And one moment, they need to make a decision between clubs that pay them and the national team. That’s also a pity, because it’s a big honour to play for your country.
“It’s a really tough spot to put players in. But there’s a limit on physical and mental performance. So it’s important that the people who decide about how many fixtures take that into account.
“There are ex-players working for UEFA and FIFA. Maybe they need to take more responsibility and help the new players.”