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Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Kemar Roofe airs his Rangers truths in bombshell address as he calls out Clement for brutally snubbing him
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. Roofe said: "The ideal situation would have been Steven staying and making a few positive additions to the squad. '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.' Rangers now have Martin in charge after Clement's exit. 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. 'I've spoken to people involved at the 49ers and everything I've heard is positive. '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. 'They have to get back to winning ways.' ** Kemar Roofe has launched his own Player Journal at **
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Daizen Maeda on Celtic Champions League lesson learned
The Japanese ace was a multiple Player of the Year award winner and helped Celtic to the double before they suffered a shock Scottish Cup Final defeat to Aberdeen. Celtic also qualified for the next stage of the Champions League before they were edged out by this season's Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich 3-2 on aggregate. And Maeda insisted he loved the new look competition after admitting a 7-1 battering by Borussia Dortmund made them rethink their approach. Read more: He said: "I really enjoyed playing in the Champions League this season because there were so many games and it gave us a lot of different challenges. "I think the new format has been great and I am excited to try it again this upcoming season. It helped me improve. "We played some great teams. Personally, I actually thought the best side we played was Atalanta because they didn't appear to have any weaknesses. "Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were very strong, but they had some weaknesses in their team, but when we played Atalanta, there was nothing for us to work on. "When we faced Dortmund, we chose to go head-on with them and lost seven goals. "It was this defeat that made us realise that it is unrealistic to go toe-for-toe against strong teams at this stage. That is why we learned from our mistakes and turned to a pragmatic approach. "I scored four goals and was happy with my performances. "We had a chance to win the treble, but lost the Scottish Cup Final on the last day of the season so I still think we have room for improvement at Celtic. "Personally, although everyone spoke about how I scored more goals, I think my increase in assists were more satisfying for me. "I like to defend too. It's muscle memory for me. When the team loses the ball, because I am the first line of defence, my body will instinctively start chasing back. This defensive awareness has been deeply rooted in my bones and I don't need to think about it." And Maeda, in an interview in his homeland, revealed how he got his inspiration for his iconic knee slide celebration that he did 33 times during the campaign. He explained: "My son was doing knee sliding exercises at home. I was inspired by that and thought I could do it too. I thought I'd give it a go and it was surprisingly easy, so I started doing it after that. "It's easy to do in Scotland because the grass is always wet."
The National
2 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Daizen Maeda on Celtic Champions League lesson learned
And he reckons the expanded competition helped improve his game. The Japanese ace was a multiple Player of the Year award winner and helped Celtic to the double before they suffered a shock Scottish Cup Final defeat to Aberdeen. Celtic also qualified for the next stage of the Champions League before they were edged out by this season's Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich 3-2 on aggregate. And Maeda insisted he loved the new look competition after admitting a 7-1 battering by Borussia Dortmund made them rethink their approach. Read more: He said: "I really enjoyed playing in the Champions League this season because there were so many games and it gave us a lot of different challenges. "I think the new format has been great and I am excited to try it again this upcoming season. It helped me improve. "We played some great teams. Personally, I actually thought the best side we played was Atalanta because they didn't appear to have any weaknesses. "Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were very strong, but they had some weaknesses in their team, but when we played Atalanta, there was nothing for us to work on. "When we faced Dortmund, we chose to go head-on with them and lost seven goals. "It was this defeat that made us realise that it is unrealistic to go toe-for-toe against strong teams at this stage. That is why we learned from our mistakes and turned to a pragmatic approach. "I scored four goals and was happy with my performances. "We had a chance to win the treble, but lost the Scottish Cup Final on the last day of the season so I still think we have room for improvement at Celtic. "Personally, although everyone spoke about how I scored more goals, I think my increase in assists were more satisfying for me. "I like to defend too. It's muscle memory for me. When the team loses the ball, because I am the first line of defence, my body will instinctively start chasing back. This defensive awareness has been deeply rooted in my bones and I don't need to think about it." And Maeda, in an interview in his homeland, revealed how he got his inspiration for his iconic knee slide celebration that he did 33 times during the campaign. He explained: "My son was doing knee sliding exercises at home. I was inspired by that and thought I could do it too. I thought I'd give it a go and it was surprisingly easy, so I started doing it after that. "It's easy to do in Scotland because the grass is always wet."
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Daizen Maeda drops huge clue on Celtic future amid £21m transfer temptation
The forward is attracting attention after netting 33 goals for the Scottish champions last season In-demand Daizen Maeda has hinted he will stay at Celtic beyond the summer window for another shot at the Champions League. The 27-year-old enjoyed his most successful campaign since making his move to Celtic Park back in 2022 – with Ange Postecoglou taking him from his former side to Yokohama F. Marinos – netting 33 goals last season. That has seen the likes of Tottenham, Fenerbahce and West Ham touted with a move for the forward - with reports in Turkey stating Jose Mourinho's men have been to stump up £21million for the star by Celtic. And after escaping the league phase of Europe's elite competition with the Hoops last season, the Japan international is eyeing another crack at the competition. He said: "I really enjoyed playing in the Champions League this season because there were so many games and it gave us a lot of different challenges. "I think the new format has been great and I am excited to try it again this upcoming season. It helped me improve. "We played some great teams. Personally, I actually thought the best side we played was Atalanta because they didn't appear to have any weaknesses. "Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were very strong, but they had some weaknesses in their team, but when we played Atalanta, there was nothing for us to work on. "When we faced Dortmund, we chose to go head-on with them and lost seven goals. "It was this defeat that made us realise that it is unrealistic to go toe-for-toe against strong teams at this stage. That is why we learned from our mistakes and turned to a pragmatic approach. "I scored four goals and was happy with my performances. "We had a chance to win the treble, but lost the Scottish Cup Final on the last day of the season so I still think we have room for improvement at Celtic. "Personally, although everyone spoke about how I scored more goals, I think my increase in assists were more satisfying for me. "I like to defend too. It's muscle memory for me. When the team loses the ball, because I am the first line of defence, my body will instinctively start chasing back. This defensive awareness has been deeply rooted in my bones and I don't need to think about it." And Maeda, in an interview in his homeland, revealed how he got his inspiration for his iconic knee slide celebration that he did 33 times during the campaign. He explained: "My son was doing knee sliding exercises at home. I was inspired by that and thought I could do it too. "I thought I'd give it a go and it was surprisingly easy, so I started doing it after that. It's easy to do in Scotland because the grass is always wet." Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
I'm the Rangers boss who had just nine players on first day of pre season – we beat Celtic but it still ended in tears
It's a decade since he became boss and here he tells Record Sport all about his time at Ibrox in our two-part series Russell Martin will get his first look at his new Rangers squad when they report back for pre-season training next Monday. Whatever he thinks of the group of players left behind by Philippe Clement, at least he'll have enough to fill a starting XI. That's certainly more than could be said for Mark Warburton when he rocked up at Auchenhowie for his first day as Ibrox gaffer. Sunday past marked 10 years since the Englishman shook hands on the deal that would see him become just the 14th man to occupy the manager's office at Ibrox. If you'd lined up the 13 bosses who came before him, that would still have been four more than the number of players the former Brentford gaffer found waiting for him in the first-team dressing room. But it was upon that blank canvas that Warburton began drawing up his plan to finally restore Rangers to Scottish football's top flight after four bleak years in the lower leagues. In the end, his blueprint for success would be shredded by the relentless green-and-white winning machine constructed across the city by Brendan Rodgers before a bizarre fall-out with Dave King ended his time in Glasgow. But for a short spell, the Light Blue legions really did look upon Warburton as the man to make their club great again. In the first of Record Sport 's exclusive two-part sit down with the former Ibrox gaffer to mark a decade since his appointment, he details: How he arrived to find a squad down to the barebones. The pressure that was piled on his shoulders as he was tasked with answering the Ibrox board's non-negotiable demand for promotion And how Old Firm joy at Hampden gave way to Scottish Cup Final agony. Warburton certainly wasn't short on offers when the opportunity to talk with Rangers came up. A former City trader, he walked away from the world of finance aged 40 to pursue his dream of a career in football. And his stock was soaring after an 18-month stint in charge of Brentford that very nearly saw the Bees reach the Premier League's land of milk and honey. But it was at the suggestion of his assistant boss Davie Weir that the then 52-year accepted an offer to talk with Gers chairman King. 'I had a couple of really good offers from really big clubs,' he said. 'But Davie said, 'There's interest from Rangers, we should talk'. 'At that time, Rangers were where they were but Davie insisted it was worth the conversation - 'It's Rangers!' So we had a meeting in London and that's where it started.' It might have been Rangers, but not as three-time SPL winner Weir had known them. The club was on its knees, still trying to recover from years of financial recklessness and a failed promotion push the season before. Warburton, though, could see the potential to build a team in his own image. 'If I'm right in the numbers the chairman had just released 13 players,' said Warburton. 'So, the first day we walked in, we literally had nine players. That was it. 'I was thankful to have the likes of Kenny Miller and Lee Wallace but there was only seven more! 'Even on the first day I had to ask for one of the academy lads to come over so we could at least play five-a-sides. 'I was told there wasn't anybody good enough but there was this one lad who hadn't done well enough on loan and was heading out the door. His name was Barrie McKay. 'He comes over and within five minutes Davie and I are looking at each other asking, 'How is this kid not in the first-team?'' McKay would go on to become a mainstay of the promotion-winning team Warburton built in rapid fashion. For the rest, he would dip into the list of contacts he'd built up during his days as a youth coach at Watford and while working with the NextGen Series. Former Newcastle kids James Tavernier and Martyn Waghorn arrived alongside Wigan defender Rob Kiernan. Danny Wilson returned to the club he'd spent his academy days at, as did Andy Halliday. 'The loan market I knew really well so was aware of guys like Dom Ball and Gedion Zelalem,' said Warbs. 'It was really, 'Just go get a squad together as quick as you can'. 'Of course, we could pay a lot more compared to the other clubs in the division. 'But still, it was nowhere near the level of pay that the English Championship could offer, so it was a real struggle to get the likes of Tav, Waghorn and Rob to come up. 'I had to really convince them to come by telling them about the size of the club, the expectation levels, the huge fan base and what it means to wear that Rangers jersey.' The new recruits weren't the only ones have having to deal with the strain of feeding the Ibrox fanbase's hunger for success. 'Well, there was no question of promotion,' recalled Warburton. "We had to get the team back up to the Premiership. Promotion was a non-negotiable.' Things, though, could not have got off to a better start as Warbs' new-look side put on a stylish show in the campaign curtain-raiser, a 6-2 Challenge Cup win over Hibs at Easter Road. 'Things really did fall into place quickly. We had a great start. We were playing in such a brave way and the fans really bought into it.' It was that afternoon that the travelling Ibrox fans first aired their Magic Hat ditty in tribute to the Londoner. He'd go on to conjure up the prize the the board demanded of him, winning the Championship with an 11-point cushion. But he very nearly provided an additional silver-lining that no-one saw coming when Gers were drawn to face Celtic in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. Despite being up a Parkhead side that were miles and millions in front, Warburton took the bold decision to instruct his second-tier outfit to go toe-to-toe with the Premiership champions in a Hampden thriller. 'It was my first Old Firm game and I looked on it as a privilege to be involved in that,' he said looking back on Gers penalty triumph after a breathless 2-2 draw. 'We stayed in Mar Hall the night before the game and I'm looking around at all these young boys in our team. None of them had played in a game like this. 'I was looking for signs of nerves but all I saw was an absolute excitement for the game. They just couldn't wait to get to Hampden. That was really pleasing. 'From my background in the city, you look at certain situations and weight up the probabilities of situations. It occurred to me that it would be very difficult for Celtic to do anything other than underestimate us. 'They came in as Scottish champions. They had a midfield of Callum McGregor, Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong, Tom Rogic. 'They would expect us to try to shut up shop, to change our style and go more defensive. I just thought the best thing we could do is the opposite and really have a go. 'From the first passage of play, we showed our intention. It sounds corny, but I just thought we deserved to win. It wasn't a lucky win. 'Of course, Patrick Roberts should have scored that big chance but I do think Celtic were surprised by the way we attacked the game and were even dominant for spells.' Victory was sealed when Rogic ballooned his decisive spot-kick. But as his players raced off in wild celebration, Warburton paused to think of the man standing in the opposite dugout. He said: 'Of course your first thought is what it means for the blue side of Glasgow. 'But then a second later I had a thought for Ronny Deila. 'I knew the amount of crap he was getting at that time, and what he was dealing with. Some of it I thought was outrageous. He'd won the title but the abuse he got was shocking. 'I just remember thinking, 'Wow, what's he going to face now?' 'But of course personally, you can't not enjoy moments like that. It was a great day.' From that soaring high came the bitterest of lows in the final against Hibs. With a 2-1 leading heading into the final 10 minutes, Warburton's side contrived to let the Cup slip as David Gray's winner ended 114 years of Leith longing. While Gers had been given a three-week break after rounding off their league campaign, Alan Stubbs team were kept battle-hardened as they fought their way through to the play-off final. 'We had injuries, and I think there's only four outfielders on the bench. That played a part of course,' added Warburton. 'But in terms of self reflection, the three-week break between our last league game and the final killed us. 'We just couldn't find a game. All the other British teams were were away on holiday, so we just couldn't find a first team to play. 'In the end, we had to go down to London and play Tottenham's kids. 'I've thought back to that period so many times and asked, 'could we have done it differently?' 'On the day itself, we didn't start well and had to come back from losing an early goal. 'But when Andy Halliday scored to put us ahead, I thought, 'Well, we've got through it'. 'It was a hot day, we looked tired. 'Let's just get through it and get it won'. 'But then what happened happened. To lose a cup final in the last minute was devastating.'
