Oct 15 (Reuters) - Rangers have appointed Belgian Philippe Clement as their new manager to replace Michael Beale, the Scottish Premiership club said on Sunday. Beale was sacked earlier this month with the club seven points behind leaders and rivals Celtic after three defeats in their first eight matches. Rangers were also thrashed 7-3 on aggregate by PSV Eindhoven in their Champions League playoff and have dropped into Europe's second-tier Europa League competition. Rangers next host Hibernian on Oct. 21. Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Belgian Philippe Clement, Michael Beale, Beale, Clement, Aadi Nair, Christian Radnedge Organizations: Rangers, Belgian, Scottish Premiership, Celtic, PSV Eindhoven, Champions League, Europa League, AS Monaco, Club Brugge, Hibernian, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru