Regardless of whether Rangers end the season with three trophies, two, or just a single Scottish League Cup crown, you’d struggle to find anyone at Ibrox harbouring regrets over the appointment of Philippe Clement.
That Rangers are still in contention for a domestic treble – just three points adrift of Celtic in the table and preparing for an Old Firm Cup final clash at the end of this month – is testament alone to the belief and the consistency Philippe Clement has instilled since replacing the water-treading Mick Beale, barring an untimely dip in form over the Easter period.
And it’s not as if many of the other managers linked with Rangers before Clement’s arrival have been pulling up many trees since either, further justifying the call to hand the reigns to the former Monaco boss.
Nenad Bjelica was sacked by relegation-threatened Union Berlin. Pascal Jansen suffered the same fate at AZ Alkmaar. And Frank Lampard – the appointment championed by Ibrox icon Graeme Souness – remains unemployed, performing his best Yosser Hughes impression as he floats from around in search of a fresh start.
When it comes toPeter Bosz, however, is where the narrative changes.
One-time Rangers target secures Eredivisie glory
Bosz, a target for Rangers following Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s departure rather than Beale’s (Scottish Daily Express), had seen his reputation hit rock bottom back in late-2022.
His time at Lyon ended amid similar criticisms that followed him like a bad smell at Borussia Dortmund, Bosz’s famously free-wheeling football leaving Les Gones’ backline exposed and frequently filletted. During his one and only full season in charge, Lyon had the worst defensive record in Ligue 1’s top half.
But place Bosz in a less competitive division, where a high-risk approach is not subject to the same pitfalls, and that is where the 60-year-old Dutchman truly excels. His PSV Eindhoven side, securing the Eredivisie title with a typically action-packed 4-2 win over Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday, may be the most exciting, most relentless Dutch side in recent memory; winning 28 of their 32 games, losing only once, and scoring 107 league goals in the process.
Peter Bosz is ‘like Pep Guardiola’
His PSV machine also steamrollered Rangers in the Champions League qualification phase last summer. They obliterated Beale’s side 5-1 in Eindhoven with one-time Gers target Joey Veerman pulling the strings.
And for Jordi Cryuff, the son of Johan, Bosz deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Pep Guardiola. Not for his trophy collection but because of his commitment to ‘Total Voetbal’
“For me, like Pep Guardiola and Ronald Koeman, Peter is one of the guardians of my father’s football ideas,” hails Jordi, son of arguably the most influential tactician in football history (De Telegraaf).
“(Bosz) stands for attractive, attacking and dominant football. He is suitable for the absolute top.”
Given the way his PSV side have swept all before them in the Netherlands – former Rangers loanee Malik Tillman one of many playing the best football of their careers at the Philips Stadium – it is tempting to wonder what Peter Bosz could have achieved with a similar stature of club in Rangers, and in a similar standard of league in the Scottish Premiership.
