For the first time he’s spoken about how he was treated by Clement and the heartache at being left out of the 2024 Scottish Cup Final
Four managers in four years.
That wasn’t the scenario Kemar Roofe envisaged when he got the call from Steven Gerrard to join Rangers in 2020.
But that’s how it panned out.
After Gerrard’s title win, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was next in the hot-seat.
Despite getting to a European final, the Dutchman was replaced by Michael Beale.
And finally, Roofe’s final season was under Philippe Clement, who is now also out of a job.
Roofe won every trophy in Scotland during his time at Rangers and is proud of what he achieved.
But there is also a nagging feeling of what might have been, especially if Gerrard hadn’t left for Aston Villa.
Roofe also believes the club was wrong to get rid of Beale.
And for the first time, he’s spoken about how he was treated by Clement – and the heartache at being left out of the 2024 Scottish Cup Final by the Belgian.
In part one of an exclusive interview with Record Sport, the former Rangers striker discussed his ex-gaffers – and why he expects Russell Martin to succeed with the backing of the San Francisco 49ers.
Roofe loved his time at Ibrox but it ended on a sour note when Clement was in charge, after he was left in the stands at Hampden for that vital Old Firm clash.
Roofe said: “How was Clement with me? Yeah, interesting.
“It was difficult. He stopped wanting to use me because I wasn’t going to be there the following season.
“I understood that he wanted to work with players he was going to work with.
“But not to the detriment of winning games for Rangers.
“Even if I wasn’t going to be there the following year, I was still going to give 100 percent during my time.
“That’s just my character but maybe he didn’t understand my character.
“I still felt that I should have played a lot more games to help Rangers win more – especially in the Scottish Cup Final.
“It would have helped the manager so I don’t understand it.
“It obviously hasn’t helped him now. I genuinely felt if I’d played more I could have made a difference.
“He left me out of the final against Celtic at Hampden. I was fit to play but wasn’t in the squad and had to sit in the stand.
“Earlier that season, I had a big moment when I scored the winner against Real Betis in Spain.
“That should have proved to him that I was still giving 100 percent. You’d think that would be the case.
“As a manager you need to know your players properly.
“But Clement obviously didn’t know or understand me well enough.”
Before Clement, Beale had taken over from van Bronckhorst at Ibrox.
And despite injuries curtailing his impact on the team at that time, Roofe is adamant the Englishman should have been given more time to build something at Rangers.
He said: “It was frustrating because I hardly played under Michael due to injuries and I wanted to give him something back.
“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. His coaching is top quality.
“And the way he wants to play football suits me so much.
“When you’ve got that, it’s really enjoyable and you want to play.
Michael deserved more time in the job. if he got that, he could have turned things around.
“Just because of his way of playing. It was very similar to Steven’s and we’d had success with it. It was enjoyable to play in.
“We didn’t have that enjoyment of football again.
“I even heard comments from fans saying how boring the games were after that.
“When you keep changing managers at a club, it’s not good for continuity or rhythm.
“Everything gets thrown out the window. It becomes too chaotic.”
In Roofe’s first season at Ibrox, he’d been Gers’ top scorer as they won the title under Gerrard.
Which was exactly what the manager had targeted when he enticed the striker to Ibrox.
Roofe said: “I was in Belgium with Anderlecht and got a call out of the blue from the manager, Vincent Kompany, saying Rangers had put a bid in and it had been accepted.
“As soon as Steven rang me – with his legendary status – he got my attention.
“I knew how big Rangers were.
“When I was at Leeds, I played alongside Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper.
“They were big Rangers fans so they’d always go on about the club.
“Steven just spoke about wanting to win the title and playing European football.
“He believed in me and liked my style. When someone of that stature speaks well of you, it gives you ultimate confidence.
“That first season was strange due to Covid. Because there were no fans, it didn’t feel like being a footballer.
“You felt more like a machine. You turned up every day to do your job and win.
“Then you’d go home, isolate, before getting up to do the same again.
“But we achieved what we had to achieve that season. The main focus was always winning the league.
“When I spoke to Steven about the aims, it was that we HAD to win the title.
“As much as I wanted to win the Europa League or go as far as we could – it wasn’t ever as important as winning the league.
“And after doing it, I realised how important it was and why it was so important to supporters.
“To be part of that team who did 55, and to be top scorer, is a good feeling. We’ll always be remembered for that.
“And people forget we were invincible that season as well too.”
Gerrard’s departure the following season to Villa stunned everyone at Ibrox.
Roofe is adamant that if the Rangers hierarchy had backed their manager more at that time – the club could have enjoyed more success.
Instead, they allowed Celtic to dominate Scottish football again.
“If we’d have done that, I feel we could have kept growing.
“But that wasn’t the case. We weren’t able to grow from the season before because the gaffer left and we didn’t really get players in to help.
“It was the perfect chance for the club to kick on but we didn’t do it.
“We’d won the title and did well in the Europa League. In any business, when you do well you invest to kick on.
“But we didn’t do that. A lot of players left, were sold or – contract-wise – weren’t in a positive place.
“That affected us the next season. If I could go back, I’d love us to have invested in the squad and had a massive push.
“That’s what Celtic have been able to do since then.”
But it’s Rangers’ new American owners – and the influence of the 49ers – which Roofe believes can help the club get back to the top.
He said: “I think good times are ahead for Rangers under Russell
“They’ve got owners in there now who are ambitious and won’t mess about.
“They’ll want Rangers back in the Champions League and respected again around the world.
“So they’ll want quick results. I’ve seen what the 49ers have done at Leeds and they’ve been massive in their success.
“But at Rangers, it only comes down to one thing – you have to win.
“Before I got there, there was no silverware. And it’s the same now.
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