PHILIPPE Clement has expressed confidence that Rangers will be able to cope without their second highest goalscorer Abdallah Sima when the Senegalese forward is away at the African Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast next month.
Sima, the Brighton player who joined the Ibrox club on a season-long loan during the summer, has netted on no fewer than 14 occasions in all competitions during the 2023/24 campaign.
However, the 22-year-old will not be available to Clement when competitive action resumes in Scotland following the winter break next month because he will be away representing his country.
The Belgian, who will experience his first Old Firm match when Rangers take on Celtic at Parkhead this afternoon, is pleased he will be able to play his leading marksman in the cinch Premiership game against Kilmarnock in Govan on Tuesday.
And the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco manager, who has secured the services of Fabio Silva on loan from Premier League outfit Wolves for the second half of the season, is certain he will be able to cope without Sima for at least five matches.
“I’m not thinking like that,” he said. “If I was, I would have lost my head already in the last couple of weeks. It’s my job to find solutions. I’m into that. That’s the way I’m into the job. I’m not looking at things that are problems, I’m looking at solutions.
“It’s something I can’t control. He’s selected, it’s normal, I’m happy for him and proud of him. We had talks with the federation and we made an agreement that he has to leave on January 3 so he's still available for January 2. That was also important so there was respect on both sides.
“It’s then the moment for other players to take the chance and show they are good players for Rangers, for now and the future.”
But Clement said: “I hope it creates less problems than now. Because I hope in the next couple of weeks we can train the team more. We couldn’t do it in this period with a game every three days.
“(The training) will make them stronger, more robust, more ready to play every three days during a long time. Because that’s what we’re going to need. I don’t have the idea they had a preparation like that before this started. So that’s one of the main causes we have so many injuries.
“But, again, it’s not about looking at a problem from the past, it’s about looking for solutions to solve it. In a season, that’s of course more difficult than when you have a preparation. But with all the staff and people we’re going to work hard to make it better.”
Asked about the capture of Silva, he said: “I'm happy about that. Because he hasn't played too many minutes this season so we need time to get him into a good shape.
“But his stats were quite good for the minutes he played so you see it's somebody who's been working on himself and his physical abilities so that's already positive.
“That's also what we got out of the talks with him in the last couple of weeks about his ambitions and our ambitions also. I think it's a really clear sign from the club that players with that reputation and quality want to come to Rangers. He's very motivated and it's going to be interesting to integrate him into the team.
“In that way, it's important that he comes early and we can give him a programme during his winter break. He has to do some stuff there that he knows and then afterwards he will go with us to the training camp. It's seven days, 24 hours a day living together so it will be really good for his adaptation towards the rest.”
Asked if he expected to strengthen further up front during the January transfer window, he said: “I know everyone in the club is working really hard to get the best things possible and that everybody is super motivated to do that.
“There is a really good dynamic back in this building with a lot of young ambitious people who want to make this club better and better. That's what we're going to do in the next five weeks to get the best things possible for the club, but also it's January so it's a special period.”
