Mikel Arteta has wished new Rangers manager Philippe Clement well in his new role, insisting he hopes the Belgian can get the Ibrox club back to the top.
The 49-year-old became the 19th permanent manager of the Govan club following the departure of Michael Beale at the start of the month.
After playing at Genk and Club Brugge, Clement won the Belgian Pro League as a manager with both teams but he inherits a Light Blues side who are currently seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders and defending champions Celtic.
Former Gers midfielder Arteta has watched on from afar as his old side have struggled to get the better of Celtic since Steven Gerrard left the club.
But the Spaniard is now confident that his former side has made the correct appointment and can bounce on up the table to topple their rivals.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Chelsea, Arteta said: “I wish him the best and hopefully he can deliver what he has in other clubs because he’s had a phenomenal career already.
I wish him all the best and hopefully, he can get the club back to where we want.”
Meanwhile, Rangers have today confirmed Stephan Van Der Heyden has joined the coaching staff as assistant manager to Clement.
Van Der Heyden first worked with the new boss in 2011 at Club Brugge and they link-up once again ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Premiership match against Hibernian.
An influential midfielder with Brugge, the 54-year-old also spent time playing in the Netherlands and France. He was also part of Belgium’s World Cup squad in 1994.
Turning to coaching, he was most recently assistant at Kerala Blasters in India, and has also coached in Belgium, Macedonia, and Jordan.
Speaking on joining Rangers, Van Der Heyden said: “I am looking forward to this challenge, it will be a big one, but I think it is a great club. One of the most beautiful things about football is that you meet different people and different cultures, not only football culture, but cultures in general.
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