Kenny Dalglish has expressed his concern for Philippe Clement and his team as the stadium issues at Ibrox threaten to derail their campaign before a ball is kicked.
Like many other pundits, including those with strong Ibrox leanings like Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller, the former Celtic. Liverpool and Scotland legend reckons the current situation is far from ideal as theRangers pre-season gets underway with Ibrox decommissioned for all of August and probably a few months more. Indeed there is now speculation that the Glasgow Derby at Ibrox on 2 January could be the first match played there this season.
Kenny Dalglish outlined his concerns in today’s newspaper column [Sunday Post, 30/06 print edition]: “They do not seem to have an exact delivery date for when it will be in their possession.
“It means they cannot play any home games between now and the end of August. It may well be longer than that. There is speculation that it could be as long as September or October. Nobody can be certain at this stage and we need to see how this plays out.
“However, what is clear is that this is far from ideal for Philippe Clement, his staff and his players. With so much at stake in the first few weeks of the season, they would want all of their pre-season to be smooth and stress-free.
“There is always enough to worry about when it comes to the £40 million Champions League qualifiers and getting off to the best possible start in the Premiership.
“August can make or break a season. In that month last year, under Michael Beale, Gers crashed out of the Champions League and lost their opening league fixture at Kilmarnock. Philippe is now in charge and faces an away day at Hearts on the opening day. That will not be easy.”
If Clement falls behind Celtic in the title race in the early part of the season the loses at Celtic Park at the end of August (or 1st September if moved for broadcasting reasons by Sky Sports), then the pressure will be considerable give his awful record against Brendan Rodgers.
The last thing that the Belgian needs is this stadium issue and after his outspoken remarks about Dundee’s ground being unable to stage matches, he now finds himself having to manage his way through an even bigger stadium crisis that could ultimately derail his season and cost him his job.
Clement will have every reason to be absolutely furious with the Ibrox Board.
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