Philippe Clement is not one to mince his words and the Rangers manager was in fine form again ahead of the as of yet unconfirmed trip to Dundee.
With a pitch inspection at Dens Park set for 11am tomorrow morning, Rangers fans will find out early if the clash with the Dee is to go down at Dens.
But the situation has been met with frustration from Philippe Clement, who told a press conference that the entire thing shines badly on the Scottish game.
Also discussing the injury status of the squad and reflecting on Sunday’s pulsating 3-3 draw with Celtic, here’s every word from Philippe Clement ahead of the Scottish Premiership clash with Dundee.
Philippe Clement Dundee v Rangers press conference
Give us an update in terms of your squad, is Ridvan still missing?
“Ridvan is still missing yes, for the rest no special things after our last game.”
Is his injury looking more long-term now?
“No, not long term but he’s not fit for this game.”
When is he going to come back?
“As fast as possible. It’s difficult. It’s matter of days, not weeks. He’s not going to be many weeks but is it now in a few days or after the weekend? We will but that’s difficult to predict now.”
How do you reflect on Sunday?
“What I said after the game. I’m luckily a positive person but I had in the past some managers who had nightmares before a game about bad scenarios. I don’t think you can have a nightmare like that, to be after 22 seconds behind in an Old Firm in that way. That’s the biggest blow you can get as a player and as a fan in that way because you are excited about the game and you want to start good. You get a goal against with a lot of bad luck also because this ball can go 100 times in the stand instead of going in goal also. So that’s a big blow and my team needed some time to recover from that. Of course as an opponent when you come in an away game and you can start like that you get a boost. That’s also natural and that’s what happened in that game. So I was not happy about this first half, although we could’ve scored also two goals. We had a good clear chance on a header with Connor (Goldson), we had a chance with Fabio (Silva), two times in the same action. So we could’ve scored also our goals but our play was not as good and we gave away two other chances, not more. One time of (Daizen) Maeda and one time the header of O’Riley. And the penalty is also extremely unlucky in that way. So you go in halftime with a really bad situation and then you need to switch your mind and to restart again. That’s what I talked about at halftime also, what I was disappointed about and how we had to do it better. What my guys did and what the players did, and in the second half we played a really good game and we were the best team and we were creating the chances. Then you have this scenario that you come back 2-2 and directly you get the 2-3, what is another knock, but we react again. We never give up. That’s for me the big satisfaction after this game. So to get so many knocks, in an unlucky way also, because if you speak about the goal we get against after 22 seconds it’s really unlucky also that this ball goes in the goal. And the penalty situation is also unlucky, to get a ball on your arm because you jump and you want to pull it back but it’s on your elbow. In the other way also we score a really good goal and the referee or the VAR goes back 10 seconds or something, what’s also not always the case. But OK I said also after the game ‘I accept, VAR made this decision, I accept’. So there were a lot of unlucky situations, if then in an Old Firm you can come back in the last minute and score like that and you see your team all second half pushing that hard and creating good opportunities against a good team where I have a lot of respect for, then after the game you need to be satisfied and happy. Even, OK, I hear a day later, and maybe it’s good for you guys to check, but somebody told me it was from 1987, so that’s a long time ago. I only have two players who were born that day or maybe just born. The first time that a team come back after being 0-2 behind in an Old Firm, so that means my players did something really good in the second half. In the first half we should’ve done a lot of things better, we talked about that at half-time and yesterday. But I think getting a goal like that creates a sort of negative effect and you see it with a lot of teams in the world. The most important thing is that we could switch afterwards.”
What does it say about the character of your team?
“That there’s a big evolution because these are the same players that a few months ago could never do that. So they’ve taken a lot of good lessons and this needs to be in that way a reference game for the rest of their career. If it’s here in the Rangers or in another team, this it the mentality you need to be a top player. And it’s not an easy thing. Otherwise it would’ve not have been from 1987 that this has happened.”
Another game if the pitch holds, how hopeful are you the game will go ahead?
“Pffft, I don’t know. It’s a crazy situation to go in a top league that you don’t know the day before – and we’re going to travel now in half an hour or in one hour – but we’re going to travel there and we’re going to stay there in a hotel and you don’t know yet if the game is on tomorrow or not. So that’s a really weird situation. OK it can happen in extreme circumstances and I don’t think in the last few years in all the top leagues it ever happened. But now when it’s raining in Scotland there is every time a problem and it’s not that in Scotland normally it’s a lot of sunny days so it’s a bad situation for the league and for Dundee themselves also.”
Do you have concerns over player safety?
“I don’t know because I haven’t seen the pitch, I haven’t been on the pitch. It was clear when the moment we were there last time that it was dangerous for players, for both teams, and it was not playable. So I will see if its another situation now and at the end I’m not the one who decides, it’s the referee who decides this.”
Are you hopeful of an early decision on the situation?
“Of course, I want the decision today because you want to prepare games. But the clubs and the federation are on speaking terms about that. Of course you want, not only for us because you want to prepare games, if it’s not possible you want to see what’s the alternative and then you need to find an alternative elsewhere because we don’t have much time any more, there’s a split next week in the league. So that’s also clear. You want an alternative and then to play as fast as possible but you need to prepare also. So I think these things give a really bad image to the league and it needs to be solved in the future that this is not possible any more.”
Are the club discussing new protocols around pitches?
“I don’t know because I was not in all these talks, we had a small game on Sunday to prepare. No and write it in that way because it’s a little bit sarcastic. No, the club has been in talks with Dundee and with the league to see that everybody can play a good football. Because that’s what every wants, what you guys want also, and what the broadcasters are paying a lot of money for.”
Dundee have been the surprise package this season – what do you make of them?
“They’re in the battle for this top six place, what is a huge thing. They’re going full in attack, creating a lot of chances, scoring a lot of goals. They have a manager also with a lot of fire inside of him, so it’s a big test to play against them. It’s a good team.”
Have Rangers made it clear they want a decision today?
“I don’t know. It’s my opinion. Of course because I want to prepare a game. So if we cannot play tomorrow when we going to play then? Is it then on Thursday? So if it’s on Thursday I would like to know today so we can train tomorrow. If the decision is made tomorrow evening we have one afternoon, evening, all day in a hotel near to Dundee for nothing. Lost time that you cannot work with the player. So I think it’s a logical thing to make a good decision today, for everybody. But that’s my opinion, my personal opinion as a manager. I think every manager has the same opinion about that. I understand that a game is cancelled last minute or the last hours in special circumstances. Special weather circumstances, something happened. This is just something that is repeated every time it’s raining, then you can make an assessment today I think?”
Do you think there should be repercussions for a club who repeatedly fail in this regard?
“No those are things for people, the board of clubs, and all the clubs in the league to discuss. That’s not my role. My role is the sportive side, and the sportive side of Rangers, so that’s not a question for me I don’t think.”
Do Nicolas Raskin and Kemar Roofe have a role to play this season?
“Of course, like everybody. Maybe in the squad tomorrow, can be. So that depends on positions, how the opponent is, how we are and the form they show in training. And I don’t have anything to say about that. It’s not that they are not performing or not doing their best but there’s a lot of competition. This is Rangers and this is what we want also, to have competition for spots and that everybody needs to fight for their spots to be in the team or to be on the bench.”
Is Ryan Jack likely to be back before the end of the season?
“That’s a difficult one. He was on a good way back last week but then he felt again a bit so we are looking now other solutions to get him back. So we lost some time there so we will see. It’s week-by-week looking at the situation and looking for solutions?”
Could you remind us what his injury is?
“It’s a problem with his calves and it’s something that’s already there for years, so it’s something that needs to be solved well. I am also not a manager who wants to get a player back for one game and then he’s out for three months or he has a risk for the rest of his career, that I don’t want also.”
What about Danilo or Oscar Cortes?
“I think there is a big chance that the season is finished for them but you never know that if they’re ready the last week and it’s necessary that we do that, if they are fit. For them it’s really they’re going to be ready in the really last part of the season, it depends also if you play a cup final or not, that’s already one week more. And we will make an evaluation in that moment but it’s around that period that they will be fit again so it’s difficult to speak about one week or two weeks according to that. And then it’s to see what the situation is also in the squad and how they are also after their very long-term injury.”
John Nelms would want to play the game next week if its postponed tomorrow?
“There are talks with the two clubs and the federation about that. So when is the right time to play? But if you want to play in Dundee next week what’s going to happen when it rains next week. Strange, strange for me. Because every time it rains there’s a problem. So those are things for the federation to find a solution and a good solution for football also and for fans.”
Would you be comfortable playing at a neutral stadium?
“Yes, I think in these circumstances it can be a logical choice.”
