Philippe Clement is well aware that Thursday’s result and performance against Aris Limassol will simply not cut it with the Rangers support, but he is confident that his ambition will serve the club well as they look to bounce back to winning ways.
The Ibrox club had the chance to book their place in the knockout stage of the Europa League on Thursday, but instead, they stuttered to a 1-1 draw against their Cypriot opponents, meaning qualification will be decided in the final match of the group against Real Betis.
Rangers did however guarantee a spot in the UEFA Conference League after Christmas with the draw, but for Clement, it was not the outcome he was hoping for.
He explained: “It was a game we dominated, which was a big difference from the game in Limassol. So don’t underestimate Aris. But of course, we wanted to win.
“We were in their box a lot but weren’t precise enough in our final pass. Going behind wasn’t a good scenario but the reaction afterwards was positive.
“We didn’t reward ourselves after dominating but I know what our situation is. We’re missing injured players. In the midfield, we’re missing two important players (Ryan Jack and Nico Raskin) and also upfront.
“Some players are coming back from injury like Matondo who isn’t at his best level yet because of that. So we need to work hard to get everyone to their best level.”
Rangers were booed off the pitch on Thursday from the stands as they failed to win for the second game running after dropping points against Aberdeen at Pittodrie the week before.
Clement can understand the frustration, but he is confident that his side are moving in the right direction despite recent results not panning out how he would have liked.
He continued: “I know everyone is really ambitious here. But I don’t think there is one fan in the stadium who is more ambitious than me.
“So I understand that they want to win. We want to win also so we’ll work hard for that. This isn’t a road that’s going to be smooth. There will be bumps on the road.
“But I want to see a team that keeps on pushing for results. We missed some precision on Thursday night in a European game that would have made a difference at a higher level than the Scottish league.
“It’s normal when players are coming back from injury, they miss a little bit of that. Because of the early change, I had less power to change things in the second half. But after making the substitution we were dominant.”
Clement made the decision to substitute midfielder Todd Cantwell after just 35 minutes on Thursday after a lacklustre display by the Englishman.
The decision was met with some booing, but the switch turned out to be the right call as Cantwell’s replacement Ross McCausland ended up scoring the crucial equaliser.
On his decision, Clement explained: “It’s unusual but the team needed more width and depth on the right side of the pitch. We were coming in with the ball which wasn’t the idea or how we wanted to play.
“I also felt Todd wasn’t playing his normal game. You can wait 10 minutes longer but for what? To lose 10 minutes more?
“I’m sure he’ll react positively from it moving forward. He’s done a good job for me already on the right side, which isn’t his best position or preferred position.
“But with the injuries and the players out, that’s the situation. I don’t have many options on that side and he’s done a good job for the team.
“On Thursday it was less good but Sunday’s a new game.
“I haven’t done it often as a coach but we coached to have more depth there and it wasn’t happening.
“With Ross, we had someone on the bench who could create that. He’s taking his first steps but he showed what we needed in that position and he scored the goal by doing that.
“It’s not about me being happy or if players give a bad pass or miss an action.
“But they need to play in the right positions. Otherwise, we don’t play our football together and we’re not good.”
Thursday’s display was poor on all fronts for Rangers, but Sam Lammers and Jose Cifuentes came in for particular criticism from the Ibrox support.
Clement refused to comment on the pair’s individual performances though, saying: “I’m not going to speak about individual players - I’ll do that in the dressing-room like I always do.
“It’s a team sport. We didn’t draw with Aris because of just one or two players.”
Rangers now welcome St Mirren to Ibrox on Sunday as they look to bounce back to winning ways. Asked what he has learnt from the club’s last two fixtures, Clement added: “I learned that we conceded two goals that were unnecessary (against Aberdeen and Aris).
“Also, we made it difficult for ourselves. We have to be sharper in those actions.
“But the group is pushing really hard. And I know that in a few weeks or months, we’ll get better. It’s a normal transition.”
