Breaking News:Philippe Clement regrets, as Genk chief reveals.

Breaking News:Philippe Clement regrets, as Genk chief reveals.

Philippe Clement regrets, as Genk chief reveals.

Rangers cannot replicate Philippe Clement’s sorrow, as Genk chief exposes what the ‘football animal’ lost in Monaco.

Chairman Peter Croonen is not surprised that his former head coach is doing well in Glasgow following repeated

success in Belgium.

Genk chairman Peter Croonen revealed he still regrets losing Philippe Clement and encouraged Rangers not to

repeat the same mistake.

In an exclusive chat with Record Sport, Croonen revealed his choice to give Clement his first big try at football

management in Belgium,

as well as the attributes that have underpinned the Ibrox club’s surprise return to the top of the Premiership table.

Clement left Genk for Brugge in 2019, just weeks after guiding the team to the Pro League title after only 18 months

in charge.

 

He went on to win three successive championships in his home country before joining Monaco two years ago.

And, now that the 49-year-old has returned the Ibrox club to the top of the Scottish league table against all odds,

Croonen has cautioned Rangers to keep him in Glasgow as long as possible.

Croonen stated, “The longer Rangers can have Phillipe, the better for them. He has shown that he can sustain success

across multiple seasons.

The only thing I regret about appointing him to Genk is that he left after the first title. We asked him to stay,

but he chose to leave.

Clement has stunned fans on both sides of Glasgow’s divide by overcoming what appeared to be an unbeatable Celtic lead in just four months after taking over as Michael Beale’s successor.

In December, he won the club’s first League Cup in 12 years, securing the season’s first silverware.His side may open up a five-point lead at the top of the table with a home win over Hearts on Saturday.

But Croonen claims he is not surprised.He went on: “Not at all. Philippe’s history shows that in his second year as head coach, he led us to championships.

“He went to Brugge and crowned them winners for three years running.As a result, he is one of just two coaches in Belgian football history to win four straight championships with different teams.

“To be completely honest, I believe that we only participated in the Champions League because Philippe was our head coach.

I can say the same about Brugge. I doubt they would have played three Champions League games if it hadn’t been for him.

“So his impact on the teams he coaches is quite crucial. I’m not shocked he’s had such success in Glasgow already.”And Coonen believes Clement deliberately chose to reignite his own coaching career by exposing himself to

Glasgow’s hotbed environment after a low key 18 months in the millionaires playground of Monte Carlo.He said: “Absolutely. Philippe is a football animal and I think that was something he missed a lot in Monaco.

“I haven’t been in Glasgow yet but I plan to do so because I really want to experience the whole atmosphere of an Old Firm game and I look forward to doing that.

I’ll be sending him a text to tell him that! We communicate, not every week or every month but we are still in contact because, in my time as a president, I really appreciate a lot that he’s somebody I was able to work with.”

 

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