Successful Rangers teams of the past used to keep their heads down after a defeat, unfortunately, Philippe Clement has to deal with the age of social media.
Walter Smith had to deal with his players being on the front and back pages of the national papers, sometimes making headlines for all the wrong reasons, however, they were also collecting trophies like Panini stickers.
Success doesn’t justify immorality, but what it does is give players a bit of leeway in the eyes of the Rangers support, something that Philippe Clement is learning the hard way.
Rangers stars need to do talking on the pitch
Speaking ahead of the final home league game against Dundee at Ibrox during the week, the manager reiterated his squad first ethos:
“It is about pride, about honour, about quality, about players showing themselves for the team and taking the three points.
“It is always about that, about wanting to win games and giving everything for that all together so that is what I want to see the next two games and then we can prepare for the cup final.”
What doesn’t help is when the team isn’t successful, and players try to make it about them instead.
After coughing up a two-goal lead at Tynecastle, Rangers players probably should have done little more than thank fans for their support throughout the season and turn their attention to the Scottish Cup final.
Instead, the usual suspects of Todd Cantwell and Fabio Silva were taking to Instagram for a bit of self-indulgence.
Both scored well-taken goals, in a 3-3 draw though, it’s probably best to leave the self congratulation for another day.
Social media distractions a source of frustration
Modern football has changed almost immeasurably since Walter Smith was in charge and the players have been at the forefront of that.
Social media has seen them open their lives up to fans, but this hasn’t always been a good thing.
Rangers and Philippe Clement don’t have to run a dictatorship in terms of what players can and can’t post, however, almost every public organisation has a social media policy.
A bit of sensitivity after bad results wouldn’t go a miss.
The thing with Rangers, that every player realises eventually, is that nothing other than winning, is acceptable.
Cantwell, despite his love for the dramatic, is a winner and you can tell that losing the league hurt him by his post-match interview against Dundee.
Silva seems to be a different case and, despite being around for a few years, is still learning the trade at 21-years old and will learn the hard way given his recent exploits.
Do the talking on the pitch, then the rest is irrelevant.
