Rangers manager Philippe Clement spoke glowingly to a post-match press conference after a convincing victory over Hibs.
Rangers impressed on a potentially tricky afternoon in the Scottish Premiership title race and were good value for the eventual 3-1 victory.
A calamitous Hibs free kick also added insult to injury.
Talking after the victory, Philippe Clement could not speak highly enough his charges and his happiness with the squad was evident throughout.
Rangers top the Scottish Premiership as a result of the victory, heaping the pressure on Old Firm rivals Celtic, who play Livingston tomorrow.
The Ibrox side’s eyes will now be firmly set on next weekend’s derby clash in Govan, but before then here’s everything Philippe Clement told a press conference after the victory over Hibs:
Philippe Clement press conference – Rangers 3-1 Hibs
What did you make of the game?
“It’s very satisfying to see the way that we played because Hibs have a good team. They were in a good run also in the league after they made good transfers in the January window. We played a dominant game. We were in control of all the game. It’s a pity to get a goal against with the only shot on target that we get against today. But the reaction was again very good and that’s been our strength so a lot of positive things today for me. The way we played football, the way we created chances, the way we scored the three goals, or four, but we were unlucky apparently the boots of Scott (Wright) are a little bit too big. I’m also really happy that before the game you need to make the puzzle with players coming back, but who do you start? Who do you want to come in to get minutes, to get rhythm? The whole scenario fitted today, that’s also not always the case. Everybody came in also in a good way giving the right energy to the team and doing the right things. So it’s also important for us that we have already four months that everybody knows what to do in his position or even in another position, like Dujon played the first time left full-back today with me, and to do the right things for the team. Yous see this solidarity, this hunger, this desire to do the right things and then with good performances the results come.”
Do you feel the reaction to Hibs’ equaliser epitomises your team’s mentality at the moment?
“Yes because we have the desire to be on top of the game all the time. And then enough moments come. We could’ve scored five or six today. So it’s about keeping this determination, the belief in yourself, the belief in your teammates and not starting to doubt or to fear or whatever. I had a job in my first months here to get this mentality into the heads. I don’t have for the moment any job about that any more because they know. They experience together and that’s a very important thing, it’s a strength. I told you guys a couple of months ago, in my time as a player the best teams I played in were teams where we played together two, three years. Because we had experiences together. Winning experiences, losing experiences, and like this we were growing, we were becoming better. So this team has this experience also but in a really short term, in only five months together, and they react in a good way.”
Will you have a great deal of depth to choose from for the Old Firm?
“That was already today. For example, Kemar Roofe and Kieran Dowell were not in the selection and they were doing a good job in the training. Kieran was unlucky in the way, and Kemar also, in that they’re not ready after injuries to play 90 minutes so I had to make a balance in that. You cannot have half the team in the selection who cannot play 90 minutes for the moment. So we need to take all of these things into account for the moment and then you have a few scenarios in your head what you need to do and making decisions around that. It’s very important to have depth in the squad not only in the games but also in the training. The level was really high this week in training with the guys coming back with their qualities and this level will rise next couple of weeks because they will be more fit and better and there will be more competition in the team for spots also.”
Cyriel Dessers has 12 goals in 14 league starts under you – how impressed have you been with him?
“Impressed is not a good word. I think it’s normal, what he can do and I think there’s still quite some margin to make with him and he’s working really hard on that. But for me, I’ve said this a few times, the striker is not only important for scoring goals. They need to do much more other things also for the team and then they will come in situations where they can score goals. For me it’s important to have a team where everybody can score. Because that’s much more difficult to stop. If you have a team with one guy scoring all the goals and they stop him, the story is finished. We score from everywhere, with the strikers, with the wingers, with the midfielders, with the full-backs, with the centre-backs, only Jack (Butland) is not scoring. I want to see football like that because then it’s much more difficult to stop.”
James Tavernier became the highest scoring defender in British football history – what about the achievement?
“It’s amazing, it’s an amazing achievement. Also because he still has a couple years to go so he can only make this record bigger and bigger. If you speak about the whole history of football, you cannot imagine how many good defenders and how many defenders with a lot of attacking qualities have played the game. So to be there on top is an amazing achievement and we’re all proud of him. I said it in the dressing room also after the game. I don’t point out too much individual players, I don’t like it too much, but I had to do it this time. All the players are really proud of him, all staff also, and all fans and everybody on the board and everybody involved with Rangers because it’s really quite exceptional.”
Celtic next – how ready do you think this team is for that game?
“I’m confident we can win against everybody. Are we at our best now? No. We had all the injuries and some players are not yet there at their best shape. But I also know that we can win that game, we have the quality to do that, and it’s also not the decisive ending game of the season. We still have eight games to go. I am focused on the next one again, and after it’s going to be on the next one again. And that’s the mentality of my players and they understand, that’s the way. We are only focused on one thing; and that’s performance. If they perform well then we have a big chance to get a result. And sometimes it doesn’t fall your way, like we had against Motherwell, that can happen also although the performance was there. We will keep on pushing until the end in all this eight games and hopefully also two games in the cup.”
The first hour was open – is that what you expected with Hibs and were you happy with how your team coped?
“Yeah of course because Hibs have this quality. They have a lot of pace, they have good technical players. We get a goal against in that way, I was not happy with that. We could’ve done things different and better, what we talked about at half-time, and then second half they didn’t have one really chance any more in these transitions. So that’s a huge achievement against the team who has scored the third most goals in the league. That’s also important, we want to play dominant football, we to create chances, we want to score a lot goals, what we are doing. But we want to keep our structure and not giving away chances or goals and keeping that balance that’s really important to win games.”
Does what happened with James Tavernier missing the penalty and then going on to score sum up the team’s mentality?
“Yes of course and he’s not the only one. The whole team is now in that mindset. That the past is finished and it’s just about the next action every time, and to keep your belief your desire, your hunger in yourself, in your teammates in that way. We come back out of a lot of situations already the last couple of months so it’s good that this mindset is now in the whole squad like that.”
You asked for the fans to step up yesterday in the last 10 minutes, at 2-1 they stepped, and also that Rangers scored 101 goals this season. That’s quite an achievement with ten games to go?
“Yes it’s an achievement and we’re working hard on that. To point out, I can do it now because I did in the dressing room, I don’t do it too much with individual players but this is more an individual/collective thing. I am also really happy with the goal of Rabbi (Matondo) today because for me it was of his biggest working points, to keep controlling his shots. In the past I saw him missing too many chances, that he was shooting wild and not putting the ball in control in the corner. He’s been working hard with all staff on that the last couple of months and I see more and more goals like that in the training and also in the games now. It’s an individual thing towards Rabbi but it’s also a collective thing, because everybody is working really hard on their working points also, in the whole squad. And like this there is still a lot of margin to grow with this squad, not only physically but also technically and doing the right things at the right moments. I keep a really close eye on who are the ambitious guys who want to do it every day, who wants to do something after training extra to become better? Because that shows ambition.
