By Kieran Maguire

24th Oct, 2023 | 12:01pm

Kieran Maguire: Rangers avoided 'expensive mistake' by hiring Clement as manager wage revealed

Hiring Graham Potter over Philippe Clement would have been an ‘expensive mistake’ by Rangers.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Scottish side were right to not gamble on giving Potter a big wage at Ibrox.

Rangers announced earlier this month that Clement had been appointed manager in place of the recently sacked Michael Beale.

Clement, 49, reportedly demanded wages of £2.5million a year to take the job in Scotland – a salary very similar to Beale’s during his time at the club.

Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter had been linked to the vacancy, but his £12million annual salary at Stamford Bridge made him the much more expensive option.

Maguire hailed Rangers for sticking to their wage structure and hiring Clement, as Potter is not a ‘quick fix’ manager.

“Not only was it appropriate of Rangers to stick to their wage structure, I think there’s an element of necessity as well,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.

“They do need to invest across a broad range of areas as they are trying to do things off the pitch too in terms of improving facilities.

“So they couldn’t afford a significant sum going to a manager.

“Graham Potter was on a very lucrative contract at Chelsea and he’s in no hurry to find a job.

“There’s a long and tough exercise ahead for Rangers if they are going to challenge Celtic and Graham Potter is not a quick-fix person.

“So I think Rangers were right to hire Clement as Potter could’ve been an expensive mistake.“

In other news, Clement plotting to lure stars to Rangers in January he knows well