Uunder-fire Philippe Clement insists HE has the final say on picking his Rangers team as he defended his disastrous festive squad rotation.
The beleaguered Belgian appeared to perform a U-turn as he shot down his own admission the sports science department made the decision to rest in-form duo Vaclav Cerny and Hamza Igamane as more points were spilled against Motherwell on the back of defeat to St Mirren – that’s left Gers a massive 14 points behind Celtic going into Thursday’s Old Firm showdown.
Clement also revealed a huge defensive blow with skipper James Tavernier OUT of the clash and centre back Leon Bologun a major doubt. The Ibrox gaffer has come under fire for admitting he left out two of his top men due to tiredness having previously admitted he goes on the advice of club boffins when it comes to fitness.
But Clement said: “People sometimes make conclusions that the sports (science) department makes the decisions about the team. That’s totally not the case. It’s not that I follow everything to the letter. I’ve been pushing players above this limit and I take the risk at that moment. If the players get injured, it’s my responsibility in that way.
“And I did it several times this season, last season, the years before in other teams. But it’s just the normal way of working for everybody.
“It was the really, really only sensible decision to make for this game. Would I love to start with them every game like they’re playing for the moment? Yes, of course I would love to do that.
“So I’m not stupid to not do that. It’s in the benefit of the club, of the team and of the players themselves. But now, apparently, that’s the reason why we did not win the game against Motherwell. It’s not the case.”
Clement insisted he still has NO regrets on benching the pair – despite the move backfiring as the duo were needed to play almost an hour as Gers mounted a fightback to salvage a point.
He said: “We would maybe lose more points the next couple of months if Václav and Hamza played, or tried to play, 90 minutes and they got injured for two, three months. It’s a normal thing all over the world with all the clubs who play that amount of games and with players who play international duty.
“I understand that people don’t realise the effect that things have on the human body if it’s every three days. That’s why it’s also a massive difference between playing every three days in European football and international football in between, in these international breaks that these guys don’t have a break.
“Vaclav played at this moment in time, two times the amount of minutes that he played last season. His body is adapting to that and he’s adapting really well because it’s already really positive that he could do that in that period.
“But we were on the edge with him to let him break down and that would have been foolish. With Hamza, it’s also somebody who comes out of a league where he never played at this tempo.
“He’s coping with that and he’s taking tremendous steps forward in a very short time. So that’s very positive. But we have a department especially for that. These people are paid for that to check the players every day. And it’s not only that. We speak with the players every day and conclusions are made.”
Clement admitted he’s facing a defensive nightmare with Tavernier limping out, with right back Dujon Sterling already being used as a makeshift centre half.
He said: “Of course it’s a blow and every injury is a blow. “We had a few blows in that way the last few weeks and months.
“It’s about finding solutions. That’s what the team has been doing in all that time and they did well. Only the last two games, we lost goals a little bit out of nothing, not with really clear mistakes or being out of structure, totally not.
“But in these last two games, every time that you have a shot on goal, it’s almost a goal. Those are the things that sometimes happen in football. Normally not so much two weeks in a row, but it’s been the case and we’ve been chasing games because of that. We need to find solutions now for that position in a good way.”