Philippe Clement has criticised the timing of Rangers’ match against Hibernian, admitting that he wanted a better performance from his team in their win at Ibrox, but that his players were tired from their midweek trip to face Malmo.
Rangers arrived back from Sweden in the early hours of Friday morning before facing a noon kick-off as they returned to league duty in front of a full Ibrox for the first time this season, and Clement said lack of rest may have been a factor in a rather lacklustre showing for the most part against Hibs.
A stunning Tom Lawrence strike and a Jack Butland penalty save from Mykola Kukharevych got Clement’s men over the line, but the Rangers manager says the authorities should consider protecting the product when it comes to the fixture schedule.
When asked if he was satisfied to dig out the win despite a below-par performance, Clement said: “No, you want performance also of course and I think we did in the first half in some moments, but not enough. But my colleagues spoke also about that last week I think.
“In a lot of countries now, the last couple of years, you look at fixtures and when they are played all over Europe, or there are even teams where teams don't have to play when they have to play Europe like we had with Kyiv for example.
“So, you play today at 12 o'clock after a European trip where you come home around two o'clock at Auchenhowie. Then you need to drive back home, so players get to sleep if they are lucky around four.
"You have the next day training, you lost one night of sleep, you have one night of sleep and this one is also a short one, because you need to wake up really early to be ready for the game.
“So yes, I saw a few players, or several players, or almost everybody who played on Thursday and even the guys who didn't play that they were less fresh than in the last couple of weeks. It's normal.
“So, it's important to take the three points also then, and we had also the ball [more] and the best chances in this game. So that's what you want, to keep the clean sheet.
“Do I want better football? Yes, for sure. Do the players want that? That also, yes for sure.
“You want to see what you saw on Thursday. But it's important also in these moments when you are less fresh, when you are tired to dig in, to get the results and the deserved results and to take the three points and then focus on Thursday.”
Clement hasn’t spoken to the SPFL about the issue of fixture congestion this season, but he urged the game’s governing bodies to consider the players and fans more rather than just the needs of the television companies.
“At the end it's you guys or the television who decides apparently,” he said.
“But it's something to think about if you want to have good quality product that you think about those things also. Because it's a massive difference to sleep longer today and have a three or five o'clock kick-off. It's a big difference.
“And I understand people who never played, who never travelled in that way. They don't understand because it's like you need to be there every game, and you need to run every time because you're well paid and that's true also.
“But there's a difference for every athlete in every sport.”
