Ryan Jack given Rangers clarity by Philippe Clement as he reveals what elevates his fifth permanent Ibrox boss

Ryan Jack is currently on his fifth permanent Rangers manager.

So far, he’s played for Pedro Caixinha, Steven Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale. But the way he speaks about new gaffer Philippe Clement makes you feel the Belgian might just prove to be his best boss yet. In recent weeks, the Scotland midfielder has looked like he’s enjoying a new lease of life at Ibrox. Having replaced the injured Nico Raskin in Clement’s engine room he’s been a key player in closing the gap on Celtic at the top of the Premiership, reaching the Viaplay Cup Final and picking up three vital Europa League points against Sparta Prague.

Jack has a spring in his step under the new manager. And he’s excited about what the future might hold with Clement at the helm. When Beale was sacked by the Ibrox board a month ago, Rangers’ players needed clarity and direction. Jack says Clement has given them plenty of both.

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On Thursday night, after their victory against the Czechs, he told players to dampen down their celebrations. Not that Clement wasn’t pleased with their performance.

But immediately after the 2-1 win, his focus was solely on today’s league game at Livingston. So much so that his squad was back to work first thing on Friday morning.

Jack has been impressed by Clement’s presence, attention to detail and winning mentality since he arrived in Glasgow. And as he prepared for a trip to the Tony Macaroni Arena this afternoon, the 31-year-old said: “The manager has been brilliant.

“Straight after the Sparta game, he told us: ‘I know you probably want to enjoy the night and the win – but our thoughts are straight on to Livingston’. That’s the type of manager he is.

“We were straight into work on Friday, getting prepped and ready for the next match. And now it’s down to us to get the three points.

“When he came in it was exciting for all of the players because of the way he spoke straight away. He had that aura about him.

“He has a vision for us, week by week, month by month. He said to us that it wouldn’t happen overnight. He wouldn’t just click his fingers and everything would be fine.

“He said it would take time and it does excite us. Obviously, you have to buy into it and so far we have. When a new manager comes in, it’s a new voice and a new training regime. And as players, you have to listen and focus. Because at a club like this, you don’t get time to bed in. You need to win straight away.

“I think that’s where the manager has been really good. He told us that he’s going to put his points across – but not all at once.

“He said, week by week, we’ll get better and he’ll get more things across to us. But he said the main thing is that we still have to win in this period.

Rangers’ Ryan Jack holds off Sparta Prague’s Tomas Wiesner (Image: SNS Group)

“We can’t be using it as an excuse not to win games. The things he has implemented in training haven’t been too much for us going on to the pitch on a weekend or on a Thursday. He’s done that brilliantly.”

The first 45 minutes against Sparta Prague in midweek was the most glaring example yet of how Clement wants his Rangers team to play. They were relentless in pressing from the front and forcing the Czech side into errors.

The 2-1 win moved Gers to within just three points of qualifying for the Europa League knockout phase. And the celebrations at the end were reminiscent of two years ago when Jack & Co. went all the way to the final in Seville under van Bronckhorst.

He said: “The manager has put across how, as a team, he wants us to play. We’ve bought into it and you can see that it’s exciting. It suits the players we’ve got. We’re enjoying it and we want to keep it going now.

“We were delighted to get over the line on Thursday night. For 70 minutes we were on top, had the best chances and looked the team most likely to score.

“It’s only the group stages of the Europa League but we knew that if we won, it would go a long way. We have another home game (against Aris) that we need to win to get through and then we’ll see where it takes us.

“But the win on Thursday was a massive step. You want to have momentum. That Sparta game was probably more physically demanding than what we’ve had domestically in a few weeks.

“But I thought we showed up well and proved we can handle going from domestic to European games. A couple of years ago we had the highs of the big European nights then had to come down for Sunday games.

“You have to recover quickly because you don’t get much time. But hopefully that experience will help us this time.

“We’ll do everything right to make sure everyone’s ready to go again for Livingston.”

Rangers’ pressing game in midweek was initiated by main striker Danilo who bagged the opening goal. The Brazilian, who arrived from Feyenoord in the summer, has now cemented his place as the team’s No.9.

And Jack admits we’re now seeing the real Danilo after a difficult start to his Rangers career. He said: “He had a tough start. He got an injury so wasn’t fully up to speed when he came.

“Then he had to miss a few weeks with a fractured cheekbone. But he’s worked hard, even away from the training pitch when he was injured.

“He’s getting the rewards of that now and looks like a totally different player. Long may that continue for us because, when he’s on his game, we look like a different team.”