Philippe Clement pinpoints Rangers breaking point as flop boss admits board 'listened to fans too much'
Philippe Clement has pinpointed the moment he felt his Rangers breaking point had arrived.
The Belgian boss was given the boot at Ibrox last season with rivals Celtic running away at the top of the Premiership and no chance of silverware after a Premier Sports Cup Final defeat and a major Scottish Cup upset at Ibrox from Queen's Park.
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Despite winning plaudits for his results and performances in the Europa League, his side couldn't replicate it week to week in the domestic bread and butter and ultimately it proved costly to the 51-year-old after he was axed.
READ MORE: Russell Martin was shellshocked by Rangers as player but I've spoken to him and he knows what isn't acceptable as boss
READ MORE: I fear Russell Martin is slow Rangers burner and not raging inferno fans want to torch Celtic immortality – Hugh Keevins
It is all change at Ibrox now with 49ers Enterprises completing their takeover at the club and Russell Martin now in as manager.
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But former boss Clement believes THAT Hampden defeat to Brendan Rodgers was the 'vital game' as he admitted the board 'maybe listened too much to some fans' as he looked back on his time in Govan.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement -Credit:SNS Group
He told BBC Sport Scotland: "I had a feeling, a bad feeling, after the League Cup final. I think it was a vital game.
"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.
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"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."
It is set to be a busy summer at Rangers with a host of names already linked with joining the new Martin revolution.
But Clement reckons FIVE players at the club now have real sell on value and teams would pay good money for their services.
Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande have both been linked with summer exits - the latter with Everton.
But there are also others who the Belgian reckons could net a tidy windfall.
Nico Raskin in action for Rangers
He continued: "Nicolas Raskin made a really good evolution. A lot of clubs are interested in him.
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"But you also have Jefte, Hamza Igamane, Clinton Nsiala, who will have a better value. Mohamed Diomande is also one of those guys.
"The club has worked well the past year in that way.
"There are now four or five players with the value to sell and several teams would pay good amounts of money.
"The club needs to build with that, or the new owners have to say 'we don't do it that way now because we have enough money'."
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