Ex Rangers boss labelled 'arrogant' by former Scottish Premiership foe after snapping up latest role
The former Aberdeen, Crystal Palace and Leeds United boss had some harsh words for his old rival.
As a former Rangers boss enters a new managerial era, an ex rival has described him as an ‘arrogant’ opponent.
Neil Warnock had a short tenure in the Aberdeen hot-seat, with only two cup wins from eight games in 2024 interim spell. The managerial veteran was in the running for The Dons top-job, however after a poor run of results Dave Cormack looked elsewhere for a permanent appointment. Never afraid to speak his mind, Warnock has had his say on the EFL Championship appointment of a former Rangers manager.
Philippe Clement got his first win as Norwich City boss at the weekend against QPR. The former Ibrox mentor was appointed as Liam Manning’s successor at Carrow Road, after a poor start to the league campaign which sees them in the relegation zone. However, Warnock was ‘surprised’ Norwich opted for the Belgian, in what is his first managerial position since leaving Govan in February.
Warnock blasts ‘arrogant’ Clement
The 77-year old wasn’t impressed by Clement’s conduct when he faced Rangers as Aberdeen boss. Speaking as a pundit for Sky Sports, he said: "It’s interesting to see about this guy, Clement. Because when I went up to Aberdeen for a short spell, he was at Rangers.
"I thought he was a little bit arrogant when we played them then. I was surprised when Norwich took him on board, but it’ll be interesting to see if he can get Norwich... They haven’t got a lot to improve, have they? They’ve lost every game so far at home, haven’t they? But they got a good result the other day. So it’ll be interesting."
The match Warnock speaks of was at Ibrox during his 33-day Dons spell. Rangers emerged 2-1 victors on the day through goals from Rabbi Matondo and Todd Cantwell, while current Ibrox marksman, Bojan Miovski was on target for Aberdeen.
Clement praises team ‘synergy’ after first win
With The Canaries languishing in the relegation zone, Clement already has a mountain to climb in East Anglia however the 3-1 victory over Warnock’s former team, QPR is a step in the right direction. The former Rangers boss was over the moon to get his first three points on the board.
Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk: "it's not about me, that's not so important, and I knew that if we worked hard this moment would come. It's more important for the players, for the club and for the fans also. What you saw during the game and after the game was the synergy is totally back, it was lost a few weeks ago.
"So it's back now and they see a team fighting, but also a team creating, playing good football and of course we can still improve a lot of things. But the mentality of the players is positive to get three deserved points."