As Philippe Clement addressed a press conference ahead of the trip to Ross County, Rangers fans would be forgiven for thinking we’re playing Dundee.
Whilst a potentially tricky trip to face the Staggies in Dingwall on Sunday noon lies in wait, the press conference was dominated by talk of that Dundee call off.
With the clash against the Dens Park side still up in the air, it’s added extra drama and disrupted Rangers’ preparations ahead of the Scottish Premiership split.
Philippe Clement – who is never shy of giving his opinion – continued his rather enjoyable filleting of the budget Dens Park side and Dundee’s dodgy pitch.
The Rangers manager also gave a surprise injury update on Mohamed Diomande and – although briefly – spoke about the challenge of Ross County.
Here’s every word from the Ibrox gaffer and his 17 minute presser:
Philippe Clement press conference Ross County v Rangers
Clement started..
“(Mohamed) Diomande had in the Old Firm a bad contact. So a small injury on the thumb but he needed operation this morning for that. So he will be out, not long but he will be out for the weekend. So I start with a surprise.”
Can you tell us where the operation was?
“The thumb.”
Just this weekend or longer?
“We will see, but it’s not for a long, long time.”
Can I ask you about yesterday?
I prefer not, but I don’t have a choice probably.
Where you surprised the game was given the go-ahead at 11am yesterday morning?
“Were you here Tuesday in the press conference? You cannot ask me if I was surprised. No, I was ready for everything. We were ready to play. We prepared everything to play. We went there, we trained Tuesday morning, we went here, we were there afternoon, players had the treatment, we had a meeting like we always do, we had two meetings on Wednesday around the game, we had all the preparation, players were all the time in the hotel there. We were together and we were up to playing this game. We were preparing everything to get the three points so all our focus was on that.”
Who was the Rangers statement aimed at?
“It’s really clear. This situation was clear already a few weeks before. It’s already a long time a problem apparently. It’s for us the second time that the game is postponed. It’s five games this season which are postponed, so that’s 30% of the home games that are postponed this season. I don’t remember in more than 30 years football all over Europe that that happened anywhere, so there’s a big problem I think. If you start to speak then about climate change or things like that then you don’t realise the problem yet. So that’s one point. It’s sure not pointed at the manager of Dundee and at the players because they are the victims of this situation also. I want to make this really clear, because they are playing a really good season and they’re also frustrated for sure about that. But it’s not a normal situation that you play in the Premiership, the best league. I think the league had really good advertisement for the week with the Old Firm, there were so many people watching this game. I hear it was even a record. Until now everybody really positive about the game, about the intensity, all those things, about the scenario, everything, although I didn’t like the start. A really positive thing for Scottish football but then three days later this is really bad for the image of Scottish football that these things can happen and it could’ve been avoided by playing at another venue somewhere else, because everybody knew what the situation is and was. So it’s pointed at the club. They didn’t do the right things to have a decent football field and it happened already several times this season so that needs to be solved. Otherwise you cannot play the game. I understand also that teams like Hibs and Motherwell also feel really bad about this situation. That could’ve been avoided last week by saying ok ‘we need to take a decision earlier or we play at another venue’. We were even prepared to play today, so short ahead of the Ross County game. To play on Thursday, if Wednesday was not possible.”
Was that an option?
“No, we offered that option but it was not accepted apparently. So it will be next week but if I hear that it’s possible to play in Dundee again. We’ve seen yesterday in the morning it was possible but three four hours later with some rain, because it was not pouring rain or something, but in a few hours it was impossible. So who’s going to guarantee that next week it’s not going to rain a few hours? The problem is the pitch. It doesn’t take the water anymore.”
Do you think a decision should be taken now that the game shouldn’t take place at Dens Park?
“Or somebody needs to guarantee that the next five, six days there will be no rain and that the pitch will be good to play. Somebody take that responsibility to say ‘I’m 200% sure that will happen otherwise it’s my fault’.
You were happy to play a neutral venue on Tuesday…
“Not happy. We want to play everywhere. We want just to play the game. You guys maybe don’t understand but we have a very busy schedule, you’re preparing everything, training, preparations, free days. The guys almost don’t have any free days. They will have two free days this month. I have to take one off now because we had to change our programme. Two days with the weekends of course included. So there’s a lot of things around that also. I saw, we were yesterday in the hotel, I see there one family with a father with a small boy. It was the second time that they travelled from Wales to St Andrews for the boy to see a game of Rangers and it’s two times that the game is cancelled. That’s a boy six, seven years old who was crying there. There’s a lot of things around that. All the fans coming there, from Wales, from England, from Northern Ireland, from all over the place. The first time a few weeks, and now again this situation, this is really bad for the image of football in Scotland and everybody needs to realise that and it needs to be avoided. So it’s important to take now the right decisions that this cannot happen anymore.”
Do you think this situation has given you a disadvantage in the title race?
“I’m not thinking about that. I told you, I am thinking only about one thing that’s my team and winning the next game. So I’m only busy with Ross County, that’s why I told you guys I want to talk a little bit about football. But I know need to respond all the other things also and I need to be busy with the other things also but my team not. They need to focus on Ross County.”
Is that what you’re saying to your players?
“Of course.”
Was the option here to play last week ahead of the Old Firm?
“I don’t think the option was there because Dundee needed also time to fix their field to be playable. And it was on the edge against Motherwell. If I hear the Motherwell manager, it was over the edge even because it was not ready to play.”
Have any players come to you and raised concerns over safety?
“I don’t think they dare to say that to me because they know they’re not going to play then, so they take a big risk for the rest of the season.”
Would you have had concerns?
“I haven’t been on the pitch so I cannot make any comment about that. I can only make comment the day we were there when it was postponed. Yes that day for sure it was a risk for injuries for players, that’s why the ref took the decision not to play. Apparently yesterday we took the same decision for the same reasons, for the fifth time this season.”
What do you think the punishment should be?
“That’s not my job. I am not sitting on the board of the federation, I am not in the board of the club. So there are other really smart people in this country to make decisions around that and to discuss about that. Maybe also they contact other countries, what would happened there, or what happened in the past. I don’t think it ever happened five times but maybe after two or three games there were things happening in other countries. Let the smart people decide about that and let me focus on football.”
Were Dundee willing to play?
“I don’t know.”
Are there plans to play it elsewhere the following day if it can’t go ahead?
“The last thing I hear now is that we will know Tuesday 12 o’clock where we’re going to play on Tuesday. Normally in Dundee, if it’s not possible it will need to be somewhere but that we know now Tuesday 12 o’clock before we travel that we know what’s going to happen. Although we need to make several plans so I hope that we know already a few days before where the other venue will be to organise it.”
Is there a chance it will be behind closed doors with no fans?
“I don’t know. Please guys, ask these questions to the federation, they organise this game. I’m here to organise things for my team, to make travel, to see what’s the squad, but not those questions, that’s not my role.”
Is there stronger leadership required from those running Scottish football?
“I cannot say anything about that because I don’t know anybody from the federation. So what can I say about that? Nothing. Maybe there is strong leadership and for whatever reason there is this situation. I don’t have any opinion about that, I don’t know the people, I don’t know. I only know that it’s important now to make a really good decision towards next week, that it’s really clear for everybody that everybody knows and that everybody can compare this game in a good way, that it can be played for sure, 200% sure and it can be played in situations that is good for the image of Scottish football, like it was this weekend in the Old Firm. With a good situation that there can be football played. I said it a few months ago. In Premier League they raise the standards in all the months that they had towards the team to have a better product of football. That’s why those are the games that most people look at. Because it’s in the best way, it’s the best football, it’s the fastest football because football is played in a good way on good surfaces. So it’s an important part in football to have a good surface so those are things to think about. I don’t know how it works in Scotland, in Belgium you have the license committee and you need to get one minimum standard. For the lights, the seating, like how many seating places and standing places whatever. I think the pitch is a really part in that also. It’s a really important part to have a good competition and a good product.”
Rangers have played Ross County 24 times and never lost. What challenges will they throw?
“I read from their manager also that they’re super motivated and that they want to do something special. It’s always the case. We have respect for every opponent and they played a good game at Ibrox also. So we know we need to play a really good game to get the three points so we’re focused on that now.”
Has what has happened this week affected your preparations?
“No it affected it. We had to change plans, for you guys also. Normally you’d be here tomorrow, now you’re here today because I had to change plans with the players so it’s a different preparation but no excuse towards the game on Sunday. I’m not somebody who wants to have excuses if we need to change plans. I told you guys we always adapt to the situation but of course if I see things that are not normal I speak about it, but I will always adapt to win games with my teams.”
What reasons were given for a neutral venue not being possible v Dundee?
“That you need to ask the federation or the right people in the club. It was not the case. So I don’t go further into questions about that and why and what and when, no. I just focus, OK that’s the decision, what can I do now with the team? Don’t forget, how many days? Four days, five days after the Old Firm. I’ve been preparing that, doing that, preparing the trainings of Dundee, preparing everything. I don’t have time to ask everybody in the club about every word that’s been said and every detail around that. So it was not possible apparently to have another venue or to play today in another venue. OK then I know that’s decided and I go on with the team.”
If it’s decided on Tuesday the game can’t go ahead at Dens Park, how would you feel about no supporters?
“That it’s a disadvantage of course but it is what it is. Like when it was Covid we didn’t like it also. But our mindset is, whatever decisions are made, we go to win games. So no excuses around that.”
You wouldn’t rule out playing behind closed doors?
“Yeah of course, if that’s the decision we will play behind closed doors. If they ask us to play on Mars, we go to Mars, we take the flight to win the three points. It’s about that. That’s the mindset of the whole group, of me and all my players.”
