Rangers have been warned not to make the same mistake as one of Philippe Clement's previous clubs.

Genk chief Peter Croonen admits he still regrets losing the Belgian coach in 2019.

The 49-year-old left for Club Brugge just weeks after leading Genk to the title in Belgium having only spent 18 months at the club.

And it's a move that Croonen says haunts him and the team to this day.

Clement would go on to win three more titles in his homeland before moving on to Ligue 1 giants Monaco.

And with Rangers now on the right trajectory under Clement's watch, Croonen has told the Ibrox club they want to keep him in Glasgow for as long as possible

Croonen told the Daily Record: “The longer Rangers can keep Phillipe the better for them. He has proven that he can repeat success over several seasons.

"The only thing that I regret about appointing him at Genk was that he left us after that first title. We asked him to stay but he decided to leave.”

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Clement has made short work of wiping out Celtic's seven-point advantage they held when he took over the role at Ibrox.

Rangers now sit top of the pile in the Premiership by two points, with the potential to make that gap five before Celtic next play, should they defeat Hearts on Saturday.

Asked if he was surprised by Clement's achievements in a short space of time, Croonen continued: “No at all. If you look at the history of Philippe he made us champions in his second year as head coach.

“He went to Brugge and made them champions for three years in a row. So he’s one of the only coaches in the history of Belgian football who won four consecutive championships with two different teams.

“If I’m really honest, I can say I believe - to an important extent - we only played in the Champions League because Philippe was our head coach. I can say the same for Brugge. I don’t think they would have played three times in the Champions League if it hadn’t been for him.

“So his impact on the teams that he coaches is really very important. I’m not surprised at all that he’s been so successful in Glasgow already.”