Philippe Clement unequivocal over Rangers takeover talk and what it could mean for his own future

The Ibrox manager was speaking for the first time in public since reports linking the Ibrox club with the investment wing of American football team the San Francisco 49ers, who already own Leeds United.

Clement’s future at Rangers was already ripe for discussion following the historic home Scottish Cup defeat to Queen’s Park earlier this month. The Ibrox side are also trailing leaders Celtic by 13 points but have a last 16 Europa League clash against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce to look forward to after the teams were paired together earlier on Friday.

Rangers host St Mirren on Saturday as they return to Ibrox for the first time since they left the stadium in uproar following the 1-0 loss to Queen’s Park, which was the first time they had suffered a home defeat to a lower division team in the Scottish Cup.

Clement stressed he had been too busy to take much notice of the reported takeover attempt by 49ers Enterprises, the commercial arm of the San Francisco 49ers. Asked if he had considered what fresh investment might mean for his own position, he was unequivocal.

“No, no,” he said. “I'm busy now with the group, with the players, the next game, all of that. Those are the things I have in my control - in part, because you don't ever have everything under control. No, it's about the job every day, going full in with that and getting the best out of the players that are available at that moment.”

He was happy to direct reporters towards chief executive Patrick Stewart having spent “the first half of the season as the only spokesperson for the club”. Stewart has since taken responsibility for off-field issues, with Clement already having his hands full following the defeat to Queen’s Park. The chief executive described the loss as a “source of shame” earlier this week but stressed focus was on fixing “the foundations”.

Clement referenced Stewart’s interview with the club’s own TV station while rebuffing questions about the mooted takeover.

“Those are business questions,” the Belgian said. “So I think the club addressed things the last couple of days, Patrick did. So I'm here, like I said, for the sportive side and I will see in whatever moment in time, if things change in the club. But I'm just purely focused on the team and the performances there. That's my job too.

“I think there's never a club where the manager is involved in these kind of things,” he added. “If things change and there are different budgets, of course you're involved and it can help you. But that's the only thing. So that's business.”

As for now, he stressed, everything else is just talk. “Those are rumours. There's nothing for the moment, so nothing to talk about until something happens. I think it's the same as with transfers. In a transfer window, if there's nothing concrete to say, we say can we go into those things if it ever happens in time.”