MotivatedDespite their frustrations with the Old Firm, Philippe Clement says Rangers are still headed in the right direction.
The Light Blues were defeated 2-1 by Brendan Rodgers’ fervent Celtic team on Saturday, handing the Belgian his first defeat since taking over for Michael Beale. As a result of the outcome, the Hoops have reclaimed their eight-point lead in the championship race and will continue to hold that position even if the Gers win their final two games. But as his team gets ready for their final game before the winter break at home against Kilmarnock this afternoon, Clement is happy with the direction his team is going in, having already led them to the Viaplay Cup championship and the last 16 of the Europa League.
The Ibrox coach reflected on Saturday’s derby loss and said, “I didn’t see one player who didn’t fight.” There wasn’t a single player that I saw who didn’t display quality frequently. Yes, mistakes were made, but I’m really pleased with how this team is responding.
“I’m really pleased with how this team is developing, and we must keep going. This ought to increase our appetite.
The thing that interests me the most right now is watching how people respond following a letdown or an unhappy moment. They demonstrated it on Saturday by demonstrating that character while trailing 2-0 and falling behind 10 in an unusual scenario where your supporters are not permitted inside the stadium. I believe their message was clear. However, I believe they also need to send a clear message on Tuesday.
The Beale era unraveled earlier in the season, and the Ibrox supporters often lost the plot with their team. However, following his positive start, Clement is aware that the gamblers are back on board.
“Yes, it’s important to recover after the weekend,” he stated. I also anticipate that our supporters will support the team all the way through. This is because the players have demonstrated a lot during a very positive phase that has just ended.
“On Saturday, you should be disappointed with the outcome rather than the performance if that’s all you’re looking at.
Thus, they are acting in a way that their supporters anticipate. Giving it their all and going all out each time is causing the shirt to get extremely dirty. So on Tuesday, we will repeat that one more time.
The Ibrox crowd may see new signing Fabio Silva for the first time during the Killie match. However, Clement now faces selection concerns because Abdallah Sima is questionable following his injury against Celtic and Leon Balogun is suspended following his Parkhead order off.
“He hadn’t trained with the team [before Saturday], so we will have to see about the availability of players,” Clement responded when asked if Silva could play. The Gers still lack physicality as Ryan Jack, Tom Lawrence, Nico Raskin, Danilo, and Kemar Roofe are among the injured players. However, Clement believes that if his team adopts the same mindset as Dujon Sterling, they can manage without.
Callum McGregor, the captain of Celtic, won the man of the match award at Parkhead, but the manager of Rangers believed that his converted full-back was just as good in his new midfield position.
“He played a really good game,” he remarked. He was arguably the team’s best midfield player. He’s a great example of what I want—players who can play any position for the team—so I’m happy with him.
He doesn’t declare, “I can only play where I am, this is my position.” No, players of good quality can play a variety of positions if they have a positive mindset, and he is contributing to the team by doing so. In these circumstances with all these other injuries, it has been a really important thing these past few weeks.
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