Michael Gannon shares 'Brutal Situation' Philippe Clement faces at Rangers before August 30

Philippe Clement is facing a mountain to climb in offloading several of his Rangers stars in time to reinvest in the squad, according to Michael Gannon.

Gannon’s column on page 61 of the Sunday Mail [25 August] outlines the task the Gers boss is up against in shifting the likes of Ianis Hagi, Todd Cantwell and Rabbi Matondo this week.

Time still needs to be left to complete further arrivals, with the squad in need of strengthening before the first Old Firm clash against Celtic next Sunday.

Gannon branded Clement’s predicament as a “brutal situation to be in”, with the most likely outcome being that the club’s bombed-out players are merely rushed away on loan and still found paying a chunk of their wages.

Rangers in transfer stand-off

Clement is at a crossroads with no time to spare, as Rangers are incomplete in the notoriously extensive squad rebuild mission that was much discussed at the end of last season.

The club have been busy recruiting under the guidance of Nils Koppen, pitched in by the Belgian boss, but need fresh blood and are being stunted in their transfer plans by the presence of the “bomb squad”.

It’s not the players’ fault – they are after the best deal for their careers – and they are in different individual situations, for example Matondo who scored two and assisted another two in their 6-0 battering of Ross County at Hampden Park on Saturday.

Hagi is a victim of his contract clause, which reportedly entitles him to an extra £6,000 per week should he make another appearance for the club [Daily Record, 13 August] – the Romanian has made it known he is content in Glasgow, but the Light Blues are not in a position to honour the deal.

As for Cantwell, he is in limbo and has been frankly claimed as “downing tools” [Scottish Daily Mail, 24 August] after his refusal to play for the club’s B team to retain match sharpness, as Hagi has done in the past few weeks.

Clement needs something to give before a recruitment stand-off ebbs into this Friday’s transfer deadline – or they are heading across to Parkhead with a fragmented and unsure group of players.

In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist reveals how he sees the title race panning out.

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