BRENDAN RODGERS has now seen off FIVE Rangers managers after Philippe Clement became the latest gaffer to get the boot at Ibrox.
The Belgian joins Mark Warburton, Graeme Murty, Pedro Caixinha and Michael Beale in the list of managers who have been shown the door in Govan with Rodgers at the helm across the city.
Rodgers has opened up on his relationship with Clement[/caption]
He’s disappointed to see his rival get the boot[/caption]
It’s an impressive statistic for Rodgers as it proves just how dominant his Celtic teams have been over the years.
But the Hoops boss has admitted that he never wants to see a manager loss his job – even if it’s his biggest rival.
He has confessed that he feels sympathy for Clement following his exit but reckons the decision from Ibrox chiefs was in response to Clement failing to keep up with his own high-flying team.
He said: “Like it is for any manager, I’m always disappointed when a manager loses his job.
“Obviously, Philippe has been in there for the period of time that he has and I’m disappointed for him as a coach. I think we all know the conditions up here.
“You have to be winning and show that consistency to win. I’m always sad when another manager loses his job.
“Philippe has shown previously, coming into the Rangers, that he’s a very good manager. He’s won titles. He’s not just a good coach, he’s a winning coach and has won.
“Like I say, we know the conditions up here. There’s relentless pressure on you to win at Celtic and Rangers. Expectation is there.
“That doesn’t stop on a daily basis. You have to then come out and be a consistent winner.”
Clement leaves Rangers with them 13 points behind Celtic in the league and out of both domestic cups.
He had the chance to close the gap to 10 points on Saturday after Hibs beat the Hoops at Easter Road – only for Gers to lose at home to St Mirren in the later kick-off.
Rodgers believes his team’s electric form both domestically and in Europe piled even more pressure on Clement across the city.
He continued: “I think that’s been key too. I think we didn’t get off to the best of starts last season when I came in, certainly in terms of consistency and performance level.
“I think when Philippe came in, obviously, they had that bounce and had a really good run.
“But then once we started to find our feet and get our rhythm, then I think how we dealt with pressure, we dealt with it really, really well.
“From that moment, we’ve continued to grow and improve.
“It’s a great credit to the players and how they’ve coped with that and how they’ve consistently performed.”
Asked whether he was close with Clement or not, Rodgers replied: “You don’t really have that (relationship). That’s the honest answer.
“I think that you actually play enough times, you come up against each other quite a lot, of course. But in terms of the interaction, there isn’t so much.
“But like I say, I’ve seen his work outside of Rangers as well.
“You need to look at that in his CV to show that Rangers employed a very good manager. That’s what they felt at the time and that’s why they gave him the job.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
