Philippe Clement believes there is still better to come from Rangers after he began his reign at Ibrox with a 4-0 cinch Premiership win over Hibernian.
The 49-year-old Belgian, appointed last Sunday as replacement for Michael Beale, had clearly asked his players to increase the tempo and get the ball forward quicker and they reaped early rewards when attacker Abdallah Sima scored a seventh goal in seven games in the 17th minute.
Belgian midfielder Nicolas Raskin drilled in a second just before the interval, Sima added a third in the 65th minute to make it nine for the season and striker Cyriel Dessers got a close-range goal 10 minutes from time.
Asked if he was impressed by the start to his tenure, the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss said: “Impressed is a big word. I am happy. I am happy about the result. I am happy that the seeds we planted this week, that the team is trying to do them as well as possible.
“I still saw a lot of details we can make better but I seen a team who stayed well in the structure and made the runs and the tempo we played at.
“The most important thing was the reaction after losing the ball or missing a chance. The reaction was good and that is a crucial apart of modern football.
“It is like the honeymoon. Everything is new. They need to confirm this the next week, the next month.”
On the other hand, Clement was not happy to see left-back Borna Barisic go off with an injury after 10 minutes to be replaced by Ridvan Yilmaz who is not in Rangers’ Europa League squad.
The new Gers boss does not know yet if Barisic will be fit for the game against Sparta Prague on Thursday but noted that Todd Cantwell, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe and Danilo were not fit to start the game – Cantwell and Danilo got on in the second half.
Jose Cifuentes returned from international duty with Ecuador with a knock and Tom Lawrence (calf) and Rabbi Matondo (knee) remain out.
Clement said: “On the downside for me, I see a player going off after 10 minutes – we will see (for Sparta Prague), I don’t know the situation.
“I see players who struggled to play 90 minutes also so there are still several players injured or coming back from injury so that is also going to be a main task together with the performance staff, to get everybody at his best physical level to produce this kind of game and better every few days for the next couple of months.
“It is not about one moment then afterwards too tired to do it again three days later.”
The Easter Road side’s six-game unbeaten run – five under Nick Montgomery – came to an end and the Hibs boss said: “It was a tough afternoon. It was a defeat.
“Obviously disappointed with the manner of the first goal. I thought we were building into the game at that point, frustrating them and we’d created a couple of half chances on the counter.
“It’s a disappointing goal to concede. And then they start building a bit of momentum, the fans are buoyed by a new coach coming in.
“The second goal, my view at the time is it was a foul on Joe Newell. That’s my opinion and I’ve watched it back on the video – he gets kicked from behind, into his Achilles before the ball is touched.
“I genuinely thought VAR would have called that back – but it wasn’t to be.
“The second half was difficult, a couple of sloppy turnovers, the pressure was off them and they’ve got quality players.
“They were more clinical than us in the final third today. We lacked a bit of creativity, didn’t generate many chances.
“It wasn’t to be, it’s a defeat and we accept it. We cop it on the chin and move forward.”
Mourinho in 'negotiations' with Fenerbahce over head coach vacancy
Jose Mourinho has "started negotiations" with Fenerbahce over becoming their new head coach, the Turkish Super Lig side has confirmed.
The 61-year-old is reportedly nearing a return to management, five months after he was sacked by Roma.
Fenerbahce are searching for a new boss after parting company with Ismail Kartal on Friday, after he guided them to a second-place finish behind Galatasaray - amassing an impressive 99 points.
And the Yellow Canaries revealed on public disclosure platform KAP - as part of a legal process to alert investors - they are in talks with the decorated Portuguese coach.
"Our company has started negotiations with Jose Mario Dos Santos Mourinho Felix for the post of Football A team coach," the Fenerbahce post read.
Turkey would be the fifth different country in which Mourinho has managed, with the former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Inter coach winning eight domestic titles across four different nations.
He has also won five major European competitions during his managerial career - including two Champions League crowns with Porto and Inter - while guiding Roma to their maiden continental triumph in the inaugural Europa Conference League two years ago.
Al-Hilal 1-1 Al-Nassr (5-4 pens): Ronaldo and company lose chaotic King's Cup final
Al-Nassr lost a dramatic Kings' Cup final featuring three red cards against Al-Hilal on Friday, with the Saudi Pro League champions claiming the treble with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win.
Former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic peeled away to the back post to head home the opener after just seven minutes, before Cristiano Ronaldo was denied by Yassine Bounou.
Al-Nassr looked to be imploding when David Ospina was sent off for a wild lunge on Malcom outside his penalty area shortly after half-time, but it was 10 versus 10 when Ali Al Bulayhi received his second yellow card late on.
Aiman Yahya took advantage to equalise in stoppage time, before Al-Hilal lost a second centre-back to a red card, Kalidou Koulibaly receiving his marching orders when he clattered into substitute goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah.
Neither team could find an extra-time winner, though, and it was Bounou who came up with the goods in the shoot-out.
He pushed Meshari Al Nemer's tame kick onto the post after Ali Al Hassan and Saud Abdulhamid had traded misses, claiming the trophy for Al-Hilal.
Data Debrief: Domestic sweep for Al-Hilal
Having also won the Saudi Super Cup and the Saudi Pro League, going unbeaten throughout their league campaign, Al-Hilal capped a perfect domestic season with their 11th King's Cup. Only Al-Ahli (13) have won the competition more often.
Al-Nassr, meanwhile, have now gone four seasons without a domestic trophy, with August's Arab Club Champions Cup all they have to show for their efforts in 2023-24.
Bayern Munich confirm shock appointment of Kompany
Bayern Munich have confirmed the appointment of Vincent Kompany as their new head coach.
Kompany has joined Bayern on a three-year deal, and comes in as Thomas Tuchel's replacement.
The former Manchester City captain, who began his coaching career in Belgium with Anderlecht, could not keep Burnley in the Premier League in 2023-24.
Indeed, the Clarets were relegated following a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Turf Moor in their penultimate match of the season.
Yet, less than two weeks after the campaign's conclusion, Kompany has been installed as boss of one of Europe's biggest clubs.
The 38-year-old joins Bayern after Tuchel confirmed talks over potentially reversing the decision for him and the club to part ways, which came in February, had ended.
Bayern lost their last game of the Bundesliga season to finish in third place, having failed to win any of the four trophies they were in contention for, seeing their dominance of Germany's top tier ended by Xabi Alonso's unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen team.
Alonso had been Bayern's primary target, but their former midfielder has elected to stay at Leverkusen for next season.
Bayern were also linked with Roberto De Zerbi, who has just left Brighton, and Brentford coach Thomas Frank, while they were turned down by Austria coach Ralf Rangnick. Mauricio Pochettino, who left Chelsea on Monday, was also rumoured as a potential option.
Kompany, then, is a surprise pick, but Bayern will be hoping he rediscovers the magic touch he had during his first season at Turf Moor in 2022-23, when he guided the Clarets to promotion from the Championship, earning 101 points in the process.
However, Kompany's possession-based, front-foot approach was badly exposed in the Premier League, with Burnley winning just five games on their way to taking 24 points as they finished 19th, going back down alongside Luton Town and Sheffield United.
He leaves Burnley having managed 96 games, winning 41 (42.7 per cent) of those matches.
In a statement, Burnley said they were "initially confident" of keeping Kompany at the club, but claimed "the changing dynamics of the situation made this impossible".
"We understand the allure and prestige of a club like Bayern Munich and respect Vincent's ambition to explore new opportunities," the statement continued.
"We wish only the best for Vincent and would like to put on record our appreciation for his dedication every single day he was a part of this football club.
"Our priority remains the stability and success of Burnley, and we will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure that our ambition is realised, namely our return to the Premier League."
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