The passing of the international break brought with it a notable landmark for Philippe Clement.
Now a year in the job at Rangers, today marks the 12-month anniversary since he took charge of his first match.
Picking up the pieces left behind from the disastrous reign of Michael Beale, a 4-0 victory over Hibs at Ibrox set the wheels in motion for what would be a positive start for the Belgian.
In his first 16 games at the helm, Rangers racked up 13 wins and three draws in all competitions. It was a run which saw them win away at Real Betis in the Europa League, as well as beating Aberdeen to win the League Cup at Hampden.
Clement didn’t actually taste defeat until he faced Celtic at Parkhead in late December. Indeed, his record in Old Firm matches still stands as the one major blot on his copybook.
The Rangers manager has yet to beat Celtic in five attempts, something which he needs to rectify at the earliest opportunity if he is to see a second anniversary in the job at Ibrox.
Clement was in reflective mood yesterday when he looked back on the past 12 months and was keen to stress that the team remain very much a work in progress.
Phillipe Clement celebrates one year in the dugout at Rangers this Sunday
The Belgian clinched the Viaplay Cup last season just months after being appointed
He is already under pressure this year having lost out to Celtic at Parkhead in September
Are Rangers in better shape now than they were under Beale? Yes, undoubtedly. But would any Rangers fan claim that Clement has been an unqualified success? Probably not.
Both of those statements can be true at the same time. The Rangers manager knows there is still much work to do if he is to lead the club back to the top.
‘I need to be home at six,’ smiled Clement when asked to reflect on an eventful 12 months in Glasgow.
‘It’s a difficult one to discuss all of that, what happened in one year. It’s good that we won a trophy along the way. I wanted more.
‘We were close on [winning] more, but not good enough. We had to do — and it’s about we, it’s never about I — we need 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, all my energy in that, day and night, to get this club back where it belongs.
‘The future is for me much more important than the past, in that way.’
Clement’s initial revival of Rangers was impressive enough that they were in pole position to win last season’s league title with only a few games remaining.
Clement was frustrated after seeing his side thrashed by Lyon in their Europa League opener
That they stumbled badly down the stretch was indicative of a flawed team, but also of a manager who had outperformed to get them into such a position in the first place.
Clement made it clear yesterday that he has no interest in any excuses being used. Moving forward, he doesn’t want to hear about budgets or limitations.
Every player who walks through the door at Rangers under his command will be under no illusions that winning trophies is all that matters.
‘Yeah, steps have been made, but we still have to make several steps to get where we want to be,’ he said.
‘That’s with staff, that’s with players, that’s with the 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. In that way, it’s about working hard to improve.
‘No, I don’t want to speak about limitations. I don’t want excuses, I don’t want any of that.
‘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. All the energy in that.’
Rangers will travel to Rugby Park on Sunday for their Premiership clash against Kilmarnock
Clement and his Rangers team will be back in action tomorrow when they take on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
Back in the summer, the Belgian had stated that he expected to see tangible progress from his team by October and a more cohesive unit after such a major rebuild in the summer.
When they make the trip to Ayrshire tomorrow, Clement is likely to be without the services of several first-team squad members due to injuries and suspension.
He expects a tough test against a Kilmarnock side whose plastic pitch has caused no end of problems for visitors over the years.
Confirming some of the absences, Clement said: ‘[Ianis] Hagi will be suspended, so that’s a pity. Then [Oscar] Cortes will be out for several weeks, so you cannot expect him too fast back.
‘Ridvan [Yilmaz] is to be back some time next week in training. Rabbi Matondo, later on that week, or maybe the week after, but he’s also short of being back with the squad to train, and Danilo is training back with the squad.
‘So I expect the next couple of months that our level rises. On the injury front, it’s not perfect, but it’s less than last season, so we need to see to try to keep it that way.
Ryan Kent has been linked with a shock return to Ibrox after being let go by Fenerbahce
‘It will be a tough test for us against Kilmarnock.
‘It’s a place where you need to adapt to the circumstances, and that’s not an excuse, for sure not.
‘You need to adapt to that way, the style of play they have and the surface you play on. It’s a team who likes to compete with the Old Firm, they’re looking forward to that.
‘We’re also looking forward to battle to get the three points.’
It was announced this week that Ryan Kent has had his contract terminated by Fenerbahce, prompting suggestions that he could be set for a return to Ibrox.
On the rumours linking the club with a move for their former winger, Clement said: ‘I don’t go into rumours, because then it never stops.
‘Of course, I know the player, and I’ve known him a long time, because the moment he went to Rangers, I was in talks with him to get him to Brugge.
‘But there was a better deal, I think, with Rangers, so he chose for that. So I’ve known him a long time, but I’m not going into rumours about bringing players in.’
