Former Rangers boss makes Celtic claim over Old Firm clash that could have saved him from sacking

Rangers are entering a new era in their history following their recent successful takeover.

49ers Enterprises have completed the long-awaited, high profile changing of hands at Ibrox, as the US consortium are now the new majority owners of the club. The American owners wasted no time in bringing in a new manager, with Russell Martin seeing off the competition to take the reins. The former Southampton boss was given the nod ahead of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Davide Ancelotti.

Along with the arrival of Martin, 49ers Enterprises have also provided a £20 million cash injection to aid transfer plans this summer. The US owners are being relied on to take Rangers to new heights, following four years of Celtic dominance in the Scottish Premiership. The Light Blues finished 17 points adrift of their Old Firm rivals last season, after a difficult run under former manager Philippe Clement.

Philippe Clement addresses Rangers dismissal

Clement was sacked in February and replaced by interim manager Barry Ferguson. Rangers struggled for form under the Belgian and dismissal rumours had been circling him for a while. Clement has pinpointed a significant part of the season that he feels could have bought him more time to improve results at Ibrox. Speaking to BBC Sport Scotland, the 51-year-old reflected on the Scottish League Cup final defeat to Celtic. After a thrilling 3-3 draw, Celtic pipped the trophy on penalties.

“I think it was a vital game,” Clement admitted. “If we had won, there would have been more patience with the fans also and the board could have stayed much calmer. It's a pity that the story stopped, that the board didn't have the patience, or maybe listened too much to some fans.

“There are other clubs where there is a difficult moment and everybody sticks together because everybody knows the story, how the work is done inside the building, and they continue and they are successful afterwards. In three or four windows, we could have closed the gap [to Celtic] with a good development of players, but the decision is made and you need to accept it.”

Philippe Clement sends message to 49ers

Following his dismissal and the new takeover, Clement has aired his hopes for the club. The former manager has stressed that ‘stability’ is a key thing the new owners need to provide for the staff and the players moving forwards.

“A lot of things have changed at the club in the last year, few years. A lot of things changed over and over again. So, I hope because that’s the main thing that’s necessary to the club, that the club has stability to work in a good way with the players, with the staff, with everybody in the club, to have a consistent story,” Clement told BBC Sport Scotland.

“I think that’s the big part that the club has been lacking for years already. I hope that the new owners can bring that for the club and for the manager, also the players.”