At least Todd Cantwell can see the funny side now.
And Philippe Clement reckons his Rangers playmaker can have the last laugh if he continues to respond to adversity like he did on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Ibrox ace wasn’t smiling as he trudged glumly off the Parkhead pitch three days earlier to the sound of sarcastic cheers from the Celtic support. The East End faithful like to call the former Norwich man TikTok and they ramped up their trolling as they celebrated their side’s 2-1 triumph in their second Old Firm win of the campaign.
But Clement was delighted to see Cantwell stick a thumb in the eye of the keyboard warriors and critics as he responded with a goal and a stand-out display in the Light Blues’ New Year stroll against Kilmarnock. It was reminiscent of the way the Englishman bounced back from being unceremoniously hooked just 37 minutes into the club’s November draw at home to Europa League minnows Aris Limassol – responding three days later with two assists in a win over Hearts.
Clement was quick to remind the attacker of that as he afforded him a standing ovation from the appreciative Ibrox faithful as he was replaced late on against Killie. Asked if he was pleased with Cantwell’s reaction to his Old Firm criticism, the big Belgian said: “It’s difficult to take out one player.
It’s a total story and every player has his own working points. It’s my job and the job of the staff to point them out and work on that with them.
“So I am happy with the evolution Todd is making and I prefer to take him out in the 87th minute instead of the 37th minute. I told him that when he came off. He found it funny.”
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