Rangers hero takes Philippe Clement and Ibrox club apart as £60m gap to Celtic shows where the REAL problems lie
Graham Roberts admits he has sympathy for Philippe Clement at Rangers - but the former Ibrox hero doesn't believe the Belgian is the right man to try and take the club back to the top.
Belgian boss Clement faced heavy calls for the sack last month following disappointing results against Aberdeen and Dundee United in the Premiership. but has since bounced back with four wins in succession in all completions, closing the gap on the Dons in second spot to two points and giving the Light Blues a strong chance of reaching the knockout rounds of the Europa League.
Rangers face Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham at Ibrox tonight in their latest European encounter before taking on city rivals Celtic for the first piece of silverware of the season in the final of the Premier Sports on Sunday. But Roberts, who won a league title and a League Cup in Govan between 1986 and 1988, is not sure Clement has the credentials to make Rangers top dogs in Scotland again.
Asked by pundit Simon Jordan on talkSPORT as to whether he is a fan of the ex Monaco and Genk gaffer, he replied: "I am not. I think he has had to learn the hard way. The club have not given him much money to spend and he is up against it to be fair to him.
"I think Celtic made £60million profit last year and Rangers are getting nowhere near that. For the next five or six years, if they don't win the league then they are going to be miles behind Celtic and that's the problem he has got.
"They started off slow, but with the players he has got they have picked up in their last four or five games, scoring 14 goals and conceding one. He has got the nucleus right. But I'm just not sure he is the man for Rangers at the moment."
However, Roberts has backed the Gers to get a positive result tonight. Prior to joining Rangers, the six-time England cap enjoyed a successful spell in North London, helping Spurs lift two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup, but reckons Postecoglou's crippling injury list gives the Light Blues every chance of grabbing a point.
He added: "If it would have been four weeks ago I would have said Tottenham would have won as I've watched Rangers and they looked average. But they've picked up. I'm going to sit on the fence and go for 1-1."