Celtic eyed Philippe Clement in Ange aftermath but real Todd couple question remains around Cantwell – Keith Jackson

Clement was a person of considerable interest to Celtic in the summer when Dermot Desmond needed a credible replacement for Postecoglou.

Here's a quirk of fate of which not many will be aware.

Around eight months ago, when Big Ange first dropped the Spurs bomb on Celtic, the name of Philippe Clement featured high up on a very short list of preferred potential candidates to replace the outgoing Australian. Yes, at that time the Belgian was still taking home a fat tax-free wage from Monaco which might have proved problematic around the negotiating table even if his long term job prospects in the Principality were already the subject of some serious speculation amidst suggestions of a splintered dressing room.

And, in any case, once Brendan Rodgers had answered the call from Dermot Desmond, the whole process was put on hold for as long as it took to persuade the Irishman to bring his planned year-long sabbatical to an early end. In other words it was a conversation which never really got off the ground but the fact remains that Clement was a person of considerable interest at a moment in time when Desmond and his board of directors needed to find a credible fix to a Postecoglou sized problem.

Ultimately, the Rodgers redemption shot offered the most highly qualified, lowest risk solution. Within a couple of weeks Clement was removed from his position at the Ligue 1 club just as Michael Beale was careering across the continent in a breathless pursuit of the likes of Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers and putting in place the feeble axis which would eventually cost the Englishman his own job.

The doors were sliding. Having previously been under consideration for the manager’s role on one side of Glasgow’s divide, Clement was offered the vacancy at the other end of town. And now here he finds himself, wedged in between a rock and a hard place as he attempts to take what Beale left behind and mould it into a team capable of competing with Rodgers and Celtic for this season’s title.

The theory that he lost his own dressing room in Monte Carlo is an interesting one and not only because he probably feels like doing precisely that with some of the players bequeathed to him by Beale. Certainly, if he could lose a large number of them during the January sales then he might stand a better chance of eating into the gap at the top of the table which remains at eight points in spite of sluggish Sunday performances from the top two.

Yes, Celtic came from behind to win at McDiarmid Park but only after falling a goal behind St Johnstone and infuriating Rogers throughout a woefully lacklustre and inadequate opening 45 minutes. Clement’s players were equally as uninspiring for long spells and they made a bit of a meal of things at home to St Mirren with two goals from Abdallah Sima, both assisted by Todd Cantwell.

And it’s Cantwell’s importance as creator in chief which is so utterly fascinating where Clement’s own credentials are concerned. Because while the manager might justifiably believe he’s been dealt a dud of a hand by Beale, Cantwell is one player whose ability will have to be harnessed and channelled if Rangers are to make a decent fist of this season’s title fight. And so far the relationship between the Englishman and his boss seems strained to breaking point.

For a start, there’s a glaringly obvious personality clash between this pair. It could be Cantwell is all a bit too flashy for Big Phil’s liking. Perhaps the man in charge suspects the former Norwich man’s head is full of Tik Tok nonsense when it ought to be focussed on football alone. But whatever the issue is, Clement risked making it all very personal and maybe even petty on Thursday night when he hooked Cantwell with 10 minutes of the first half against Aris Limassol remaining.

Given how atrociously both Lammers and Jose Cifuentes were performing against the Cypriots, the decision to make Cantwell the scapegoat made Clement look a little one eyed and lacking a breadth of vision. That’s why the home fans were in danger of turning on him for the first time as Rangers limped to a 1-1 draw.

It was fortunate for the manager that the equaliser was scored by Cantwell’s replacement, Ross McCausland, but the young winger could still have been sent on from the bench without making such a statement substitution. Lammers, for example, could have been told to make way without anyone inside the stadium even noticing the Dutchman was missing in action.

It was certainly no surprise that he was left on the bench when Clement named his starting XI to face St Mirren. But what did catch the eye was Cantwell’s inclusion and his role in a more central, creative position.

In fact, it might have been more convenient for Clement to double down and leave Cantwell to stew on the sidelines again rather than to throw him straight back into the mix in his preferred place. That Clement chose to give Cantwell the nod smacked of strong management and perhaps even an indication he may have been wrong to put his player through such a high profile humiliation in the first place.

And, the more Cantwell’s confidence returned on Sunday, the more Rangers benefited from having his creative talents. If there has been some sort of stand-off or simmering bad blood between the pair, stretching back to the semi final of the Viaplay Cup when Cantwell was axed at half time, then now would seem like an appropriate moment for the hatchet to be buried.

Clement will find that this job of his will be made all the more easier the more Cantwell is coordinating his attack rather than stropping from a seat on his bench.

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