What about Igamani, with his valuable possession, he hits the ball at an impressive pace - 12 times in the last 14 games. Is he ready for the pitchforks of potential suitors? “It needs to be a win-win situation,” Clement explained. "We know it, we're not at the top of the food chain. But it needs to be the right time for the club and the players."

"I don't think he's ready to take the next step yet. It's important for him to be in a stable environment and it's really good here."

If Egagun continues the way he is, sooner or later there will only be one outcome - an exit from a larger league as part of the Rangers' much-talked-about but rarely seen pattern of player trades.

"You need to develop players and then sell them to bigger competitions for better prices," Clement said. "This business model didn't exist in the past few years, people invested money but the club didn't get the money back from the sales, which is unhealthy. We don't want to be in the same situation as 12 years ago (financial collapse), so this is the only way we can do it.”

If this has been a joyless ordeal set against the backdrop of fan dissatisfaction with inconsistent and sometimes poor away form in the league, Clement does not appear to be burdened with such baggage.

How could it be fun? "Oh, it's a lot of fun," enthuses the Belgian. "You are a journalist and you only talk about negative things. We have had a lot of positive moments this season.

"The atmosphere was great when we won the Celtic game, the Tottenham game and our other European games at home. We were very close to winning our first trophy of the season.

"We've now got 34 out of 36 league points at home, so a lot of good things have happened. The same goes for away games. We haven't picked up enough points and the demands are really high. This club is all about winning." This is also my purpose.

"I want to win everything, so I understand people are upset when we don't win. I'm not happy either. We have a lot of work to do. I'm not one to run away."

From Fraserburgh at home to Manchester United away - football is full of contrasts. Thursday's meeting is one of two giants trying to find their way despite being overshadowed by their city rivals for years. Clement said the comparisons ended there.

"If you look at what they've spent over the past few years and what we've spent, I don't think we can compare," he said. "They spent a lot of money. We spent, uh, not a lot, but we're trying to find real young talent to develop them and make them better."

Clement was last in the dugout at Old Trafford as head coach of Club Brugge in the 2019-20 season. After a 1-1 draw with Belgium, they received an early red card against Manchester and lost 5-0. "We expect another scenario on Thursday," he said with a half-smile.