Alex McLeish insists Philippe Clement has the right mental fortitude to be the next manager of Rangers.

The Belgian coach is the frontrunner to replace Michael Beale who was sacked by the Ibrox club last week.

The 49-year-old is believed to have seriously impressed James Bisgrove and John Bennett at the interview stage. The club's chief executive and chairman have been in London since Sunday night conducting the final round of the recruitment process.

A decision on Beale's successor is expected within the next 48 hours. 

And McLeish, who says he's familiar with Clement's work having worked in Belgium with Genk during the 2014/15 campaign, reckons the prospective candidate is at a good stage in his career to take on the role.

"Yeah, I knew of Philippe," the former Scotland head coach said. "It's a tough job to come to get Rangers up to a level that the Rangers fans expect.

"We know that you can get managers coming in and they can resurrect the situation, but it's a tough job for anybody. If the recruitment is not right then it makes it even more difficult. 

"He will definitely have the right mentality having that success behind him and the confidence. He's young enough, it's not as if he's past it. He's young enough to come in and take the lead. 

"Has he got the right recruitment? Or can he look at improving the players that are there with his style of play or managerial skills? That is the key. 

"Or do Rangers have to go into their purse again and look for more money for other players? I guess he'll have an idea about bringing in certain players if he's the man for the job."

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Fellow Belgian Nicolas Raskin has also spoken about the potential of Clement taking the job. 

Speaking after the win over St Mirren, the midfielder said: “I don’t know him personally but he did very well with the two teams he had in Belgium.

“And he also did incredibly well at Monaco. So let’s see what happens in the future.

“Would he be a good fit here? Yeah, I think he’d bring some clarity and an attacking style, so I think he’d be good.”