Philippe Clement faces a HUGE day at Hampden as the under-pressure Rangers boss bids to reach the Premier Sports Cup Final.
The Light Blues support have ramped up the heat on the Belgian after a midweek defeat to Aberdeen at Pittodrie leaves them trailing Jimmy Thelin and Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic at the Premiership summit by nine points after just ten games. Performances and results have proved inconsistent for the Ibrox side so far – but there is no margin for error when they take to the field in Mount Florida.
Motherwell stand in the way of a spot in the December showpiece with rampant Celtic firing out a major warning on Saturday evening after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 to put a first defeat on the CV of Thelin since his arrival in the Granite City. These two sides have already clashed at Hampden earlier this season in the league while Rangers took up temporary residence while ongoing works at Ibrox got completed. Clement and his troops won 2-1 that day with Vaclac Cerny and Cyriel Dessers on the scoresheet and he really could be doing with a repeat result this afternoon.
One big talking point will come in terms of his team selection after defeat on Wednesday night. Skipper James Tavernier has come in for some stick from fans with Dujon Sterling warming the bench on most occasions while Neraysho Kasanwirjo has also played along the backline when called upon. Dessers is another who continues to split opinion with the striker regularly getting the nod with Hamza Igamane still getting up to speed at Rangers and Danilo working back from his latest injury. But the big money signing from last summer was back scoring for the B team recently and has been in training and taking Clement’s current situation could he be considering a stick or twist scenario with his No9 position as well as other areas of the park?
Radical Rangers XI to face Motherwell at Hampden
Speaking ahead of facing Motherwell, Clement said: “I saw the things that we did well [against Aberdeen] and, for sure, the things we didn’t do well, and that’s what we discussed today. With the right mentality, attitude and spirit, things can change really fast.
“We’re working really hard on that with all the group, on and off the pitch, knowing what to do and what this club is all about. Every loss is a drama and a bad thing, and that’s what you need to live with and embrace.
“We’re going to continue working hard with the squad to have that in the mind and then to bring more consistency in the good moments. You see in moments where it goes well, and that’s what we need to turn around.
“Those are the basics and that was one of the strengths last season; in difficult moments the team dug in and changed things around. We’ve been good when we’ve started well and scored the first goal; we need to make this step with the group all together.
“That’s what this club needs. I’ve spoken so many times about this mindset and that’s what I want to live in.”