Dave King has predicted Rangers could face a battle to hang onto Philippe Clement long-term.

The former Ibrox chairman has been impressed with the Belgian since his arrival in Glasgow.

And despite having not yet even gone through his first season in the dugout at Rangers, King has warned Clement could be a candidate for other jobs in world football.

King - who admitted he wasn't overly familiar with Clement when he was appointed - is concerned a "dearth of really good managers" could see elite clubs consider Clement in the future.

In an exclusive interview with The Rangers Review, he said: “I really think we have got a platform now and I just hope we are able to keep the manager. 

“If you look at it right now and the international market for managers, I am watching it a lot with the Liverpool situation, and I say ‘Where is the quality of manager?’

"Liverpool are looking for a manager, I think [Manchester] Utd will be looking for a manager, we have got Barcelona looking for a manager, Bayern looking for a manager.

"You look out there and ask ‘Where are these managers?’ I would think that our present manager, particularly given that [Ange] Postecoglou has done so well with Spurs as well, I think we are going to have to work hard to hold onto him because there is a dearth of really good managers out there.”

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King's liking of Clement comes purely from watching the manager from afar - an unusual experience for the former Ibrox supremo.

The businessman has met every Rangers manager for the past three decades but still hasn't come face to face with Clement.

That hasn't dampened his excitement for the future under the manager, though.

“I am very excited about him," said King. "He is the first manager for the last 25, 30 years who I have never personally met.

"Even going back to David Murray’s days, I knew the managers. It does help to have a certain sense of them as a person. You can see their personal characteristics, who they are as a man, what they are like outside of the football environment.

"I haven’t had that opportunity because I haven’t met the new manager yet. But I just look at the way the club is going about their business, not just what is said."