Philippe Clement will be licking his wounds knowing that the Scottish Premiership trophy is no longer in Rangers hands.
The manager was let down by players like John Lundstram, but he was far from blameless himself with how he used his squad.
At Ibrox, his team selection was questionable, and although it wasn’t the source of going two goals behind, it certainly didn’t help matters – on this occasion, Philippe Clement played a part in Rangers downfall.
John Lundstram throws in worst display of season for Rangers
First and foremost, Clement has no control over James Tavernier switching off which led to Lundstram scoring an own goal or the entire left-hand side of the defence – Lundstram again – not following runners to allow Matt O’Riley to open the scoring.
They had been given plenty warning.
What the Gers boss could have done, is not pick Lundstram in the first place.
Statistically, Lundstram’s performance was the worst of any Scottish Premiership player this season, according to WhoScored.com.
In a bewildering performance, he had no key passes, no tackles, no interceptions, two fouls, one red card, was dispossessed once, scored one own goal and have an overall rating of a very generous 4.48.
Rangers News player rating for Lundstram of 1/10 reflected his contribution more accurately.
Philippe Clement was considerably more forgiving, speaking to the BBC after the game:
“Of course, disappointed at losing. Mostly disappointed about first 20 minutes when we weren’t aggressive enough.
“Also in the decision making in the tackle and getting a red card because that changed the game.
“We had our chances and made our goal. At half-time, the xG of the teams is similar. If you stay with 11, it’s another story.
“To speak about positive things, the team kept on fighting and made it difficult for Celtic. There was a lot of tension in the stadium because my team kept fighting. That’s what I demand of them.
“John [Lundstram] made a bad decision and he knows [that]. We don’t forget everything he has done for the team. Now it’s looking forward.
“Everybody felt there was still a chance. You need to take those moments and we were not clinical enough.
“We need to recover fast and get the three points against Dundee.”
Clement should heed the warning of a genius
Albert Einstein once defined madness as repeating the same actions and expecting a different outcome – or words to that effect.
Continuing to play John Lundstram could see Philippe Clement committed, or worse, relieved of his duties as Rangers manager.
The primary reason why Rangers start so slowly in games is because there isn’t a natural playmaker in midfield or someone who can get on top of opposition defences.
Lundstram’s statistics back up his performance, his side were already playing with 10 men before he got sent off.
It was refreshing to see Nicolas Raskin come on and add some real energy in midfield.
He rattled Callum McGregor a few times, played aggressively with and without the ball and drove forward whenever he could.
Raskin might not be the answer to Clement’s prayers, however, it is time to forget everything that Lundstram has done, because nothing he has done has been memorable in recent weeks, except for all the wrong reasons.
