'I'm not worried about my future,' insists Clement as faltering Rangers fall 14 points behind Celtic


Philippe Clement claimed he was not worried about his immediate future with Rangers despite his side falling 14 points behind Celtic in the title race.

Following a defeat to St Mirren on Boxing Day, a desperate first-half performance at Motherwell saw their players booed off the field after losing two goals.

While a brace from substitute Hamza Igamane prevented the visitors from slipping to another defeat, two more dropped points ensured the gap on leaders Celtic widened ahead of Thursday's Old Firm match.

Clement insisted he was not worried that the board had lost faith in him after this latest setback, saying: “No, that doesn't worry me because I'm just busy with the team.” We knew before the season what the project was and what a challenge it would be.

'It's hard to talk about it because you won't understand it and people outside might not understand it.

'But an evolution has occurred. The last two games there haven't done it, for sure. And we have hurt each other that way. But there were good games in recent weeks where the team showed potential.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement is confident the board has not lost faith in him

Rangers manager Philippe Clement is confident the board has not lost faith in him

Motherwell's Apostolos Stamatelopolous celebrates after scoring the first goal in a 2-2 draw

Motherwell's Apostolos Stamatelopolous celebrates after scoring the first goal in a 2-2 draw

Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart and chairman Fraser Thornton watch events unfold at Fir Park

Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart and chairman Fraser Thornton watch events unfold at Fir Park

'There are already teams interested in some players for the future, which we didn't have in the last two years. So we are taking action, but you can't talk about that after losing points against St Mirren and against Motherwell, I know that.

'We need to work hard in a few days to be much more resilient and determined in these defensive actions. That will be a part of the game but, of course, also with the ball. Show what the players showed in the cup final (from Premier Sports).

When asked if the board had recently reiterated their continued support for him, Clement said: “Yes, they made a very clear statement about it already at the beginning of the season and now also with the (new) people involved.”

Asked if recent poor results had changed the tone of those conversations, Clement responded: “Do you think with a different coach we wouldn't have made mistakes today on defense?” Was it a problem that the team structure was not good? “So those are things that a board should decide.”

Rangers were all over the place defensively as Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Tawanda Maswanhise gave Motherwell a two-goal half-time lead.

Furious at the lack of initiative shown by his players in that period, Clement added: “We brought about our own ruin two games in a row, conceding goals that can't be conceded that way. We clearly weren't aggressive enough in those duels and that's something strange.

'They are different players, individual mistakes. We make it very difficult for ourselves two games in a row, giving away silly and unnecessary goals. It's very frustrating.

'If there is no quality to do it, you have a big problem. But they showed in recent months that there was a good defensive side. They played very well against Tottenham and also against Celtic.

“Now, two games in a row, we gave away incredible goals. So you need to chase things. But, in the second half, it was not a team that gave up nor a single player that gave up. Everyone has been fighting for it. That's the minimum, of course. But we wasted five points in two games defending very poorly.”

Clement did not regret having made seven changes to his starting team.

“It's really simple, guys,” he said. 'Ianis (Hagi) was sick. Ianis usually started today. Leon Balogun is injured. Jefte played almost the same number of games as last season so far. Ridvan (Yilmaz) played, for me, a good game in that position.

'Vaclav (Cerny) has already played twice as many minutes as last season. He also said that yesterday he was very tired. The same goes for Hamza, who played almost the same minutes as last season in a short time.

“So yes, I also see the difference when Vaclav and Hamza come on in the second half. But I would really be a fool if I had started with them and after 60 minutes they would both have been injured for a month or two.”



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