Barry Ferguson, by his own admission, is a hard man to please.
The former Rangers captain insists there are plenty of people he’s come across in his life who are easily forgettable.
Philippe Clement is not one of them, though.
The Rangers manager spoke to the ex-Ibrox and Scotland midfielder at dinner during the club’s winter break trip to La Manga in Spain last week.
And the pundit says the Belgian has left a lasting impression.
“There are some people in life who you meet one minute and instantly forget about the next,” he wrote in his Daily Record column. “And there are others who leave a lasting impression.
“It’s hard to put into words – they just have that aura about them – and, in my experience, these people don’t come around all that often. But let’s just say, I caught up with one of them the other day.
“I was over at the Rangers training camp in La Manga last week and I had the pleasure of bumping into Philippe Clement at the team hotel after dinner last Saturday night.
“It was the first time I’ve had the chance to introduce myself to the manager since his appointment and I’m certainly not going to go into any detail about what was discussed over those 20 minutes or so.
“It was a good chat about football and life in Scotland in general. But what I will say is I walked away from that conversation with a smile on my face because it confirmed to me what I had already suspected just by watching on from afar.”Trust me when I say it, this guy really gets what Rangers are all about. And I can think of no bigger compliment to pay him. He’s a straight-talking man who doesn’t use big words or any fancy dan phrases.
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“He’s just a down-to-earth football man who understands what it means to be in charge of this club and the demands that come with the job. Most of all, he realises that the key to life as the Rangers manager is to be a winner.
“I’ll be honest here, I’m not easily impressed. But I walked away thinking to myself, ‘That’s one impressive individual – this guy really does get what it’s all about!’. I’ve also met more than a few managers in my time. Some good. Some others not so much. So I know a proper one when I see one. He fully understands the club, the demands and the expectations. And I was left with the feeling that my old club is in really good hands.
“Time will tell. He’s only just come in the door and there’s a lot of hard work still to do. He knows he needs another couple of signings before the transfer window shuts and he realises that’s easier said than done at this time of year. It may take a bit of wheeling and dealing in the last few days of the market.”
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