Alex Rae has lifted the lid on his experience working under Philippe Clement at Rangers.
Rae left Ibrox when Clement was sacked from his managerial role on February 22, the day after a humiliating 2-0 home loss against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
Clement won the Scottish League Cup during his first campaign in Glasgow and also guided Rangers to the Europa League Round of 16 this season.
But it was the inconsistent league form and the shocking Scottish Cup elimination by Queen’s Park that ultimately led to his dismissal.
Rae, making his first media appearance since departing Rangers last month, shared some insight on the near-18 month period as part of Clement’s backroom staff.
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, the former first-team coach said: "I thought he was tremendous. His work ethic was second to none. He was first in and last out every single day. His attention to detail was second to none as well, and I've only got a huge amount of respect for Philippe. I thought he was a great guy.
"Unfortunately, when he come in, for me, it was probably a real transitional period where if you think of the players who went out in the summer; Connor Goldson, John Lundstram, Borna Barisic, and they'll be an argument to say that they were coming towards the end of their time. Kemar Roofe, guys who had done well to get them to Seville and win them the league title a couple of years ago.
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"And what they were trying to do was trying to get sustainable model with buying younger players and then developing them. Similar to what Celtic do really. But in doing that they took a helluva lot of experience out of the camp as well. And these guys were learning on the ground.
"I think there's a balance to be had with actually getting rid of that much experience. But listen, it was needed as well because obviously the wage budget was reduced significantly in the summer."
Rae was then asked whether the current Rangers squad have the correct mentality to lift silverware this season, with the Light Blues holding a 3-1 first leg advantage over Fenerbahce as they look to progress into the Europa League quarter-finals.
"I think it's a very valid question because until they actually start winning something then that will be what's labelled at you," he acknowledged.
"People talk about to play for the Old Firm you need a winning mentality. That only comes by winning silverware. Obviously if you think about some of the guys they brought in; Jefte, [Mohamed] Diomande, then you have [Hamza] Igamane, Connor Barron was brought in as well. So, there's a lot of young boys. They really need to find their feet. I wouldn't have expected them to be hitting the ground and being nine out of ten every week. They need that time to actually get there and they also need support as well.
"The counter argument will be there's guys like [Jack] Butland, [James] Tavernier, guys who have got a wee bit more experience. But they need to try and find that winning mentality. You have to go away and find a way to get that away form sorted. If you don't get the away form sorted then it becomes more difficult."
