Despite Rangers’ inability to defeat Dundee in their match against title rivals Celtic on Wednesday night, defiant manager Philippe Clement is certain that his club can win the Premiership.
Soon after suffering a 3-2 defeat at home to Ross County on Sunday, Rangers dropped further points with a 0-0 draw at Dens Park. With five league games remaining, Celtic leads their Old Firm opponents by three points and has a five-point advantage in goal differential. The Gers are struggling right when the season is coming to a close—they have only triumphed in two of their last eight games.
Despite the setback in Dingwall, Clement is still fully confident that his team can defeat Celtic, saying his players responded well to the setback. The Belgian stated, “I still think that [we can win the title].” In October, I was perhaps the only person in Glasgow, if not the entire town, who held that belief. Now that six months have passed, there is a good chance that we will have won every game. Considering what I have seen this season so far, I think it is already a significant step forward and I have faith in these players and this squad. They are capable of it again.”
Regarding the actual game, Clement went on: “They responded. The desired outcome eluded us. We were the only team to deserve this result this evening in the possession, in the chances also. But you need to put the ball against the net. And you also need some luck sometimes.
It would be concerning if it was the same performance as Sunday. That was not the case. So, there were a lot of things much better, it was also needed because Sunday was our worst performance in the six months that we’ve been together. I saw players who gave everything to get the result. It’s not easy against a team who play man making all over the pitch and follow you … even if you go to the toilet.
Thus, in order to create the space we did, there were opportunities, even on a bumpy pitch where it can be challenging to maintain composure under pressure and make the necessary decisions. However, those are not justifications; my team gave it their all today, and while I was disappointed and angry on Sunday, I also saw a team that, while obviously capable of more, wanted to do everything in its power to win and operate outside of the structure that we had been using for the past few months.”
When asked what lesson he felt the traveling supporters should take away from Rangers after they were jeered off the field, Clement replied, “That they need to stick with the team.” That is really, really significant. It involves both winning and losing points collectively. As a fan, I am aware that you feel these things, especially after the game. However, they have been fantastic over the past few months, helping the team get through challenging times. In this case, that is also what I anticipate. They anticipate that the team will use every effort to win. Perhaps they can get the ball or the team across the line a few times in the upcoming weeks.”
