Philippe Clement had plenty to say as his League Cup winning Rangers side switch back to Scottish Premiership duties v St Johnstone.
The Belgian manager has just guided his resurgent Rangers squad to League Cup glory with James Tavernier the hero at Hampden against Aberdeen.
Now the Ibrox boss is challenging his team to switch their focus back onto the Scottish Premiership “marathon” with the Gers still competing on another three fronts.
Here’s every word from a blockbuster Philippe Clement pre-St Johnstone press conference as he touches on everything from the squad’s injury status to the post-Aberdeen celebrations.
Philippe Clement press conference – Rangers v St Johnstone
Philippe how were the celebrations after Sunday?
“Good, but in a controlled way. So it was interesting to see also. But that’s good to see also, that the players didn’t forget there’s a game on Wednesday also. They enjoyed it. It was really fun for me also to see them in that way. To see them with their families also, it was the first time. So no, it was a really good evening.”
You look like you enjoyed having the trophy in front of the fans back at Ibrox, how special was that moment for you?
“Yeah very special. Every trophy is really important and after your career, the moment you stop you always remember those moments. It’s the same as in my playing career, you remember the teammates that you played (with) when you became champion, or you win cups. You remember these evenings, the things that happened later on, those are the memories after a career, not the games in between. It’s those moments so you need to grab them also.”
I suppose the hope is that your team for you takes confidence takes belief and confidence from that and carries it on. Have you seen that already back in training? What’s the mood been like?
“It’s a strange question because I had this question already a few times the last couple of days. If this team doesn’t have belief, they wouldn’t have done those things last week, so the belief is there. There is no doubt about that. But it’s about giving confirmation every time and keeping that belief and keeping our standards and raising our standards and being ambitious and being hungry. It’s about that. But without belief you cannot win in Betis and you cannot win this Cup Final so belief was there we didn’t need the Cup Final for that.”
What’s your message been to the players in terms of what comes next?
“That we step back in our marathon. It’s two sprints last week and we step back in our marathon and it’s about seeing now who’s sharp, who’s good. Also to see it’s five games in a really short time so it’s impossible to do the five games with the same players. And to make the right choices and that the players show themselves towards me, towards my staff, that they are ready to play.”
You talk about that marathon Philippe but how big an opportunity is this on Wednesday for the first time to cut the lead to two points?
“It’s the same opportunity as one week ago, as nine weeks ago, as it will be in nine weeks, ten weeks. It’s the same. It’s about three points. There’s no difference in that. It’s one of these 38 games that you can get three points. Yeah we just want to keep our rhythm that we’re having and we want to be there again, like you have to be there in the weekend. And we know in this marathon there will be one moment it will not be the case and you guys will be the first one to say ‘oh, they stopped now with their rhythm’. It will not be the case also with the mentality that’s here now. No, we just continue what we’ve been doing the last weeks and go forward together.”
You talk about the mentality of your team. You spoke about that after the Cup Final, the fact you had to go away to Seville, massive game and win that, another massive game, win again at the weekend. How do you get your players up for this? How confident are you that their mentality can stay right at the top coming into Wednesday?
“I think it’s a logical thing when I came into the building the confidence was not there. But I saw what I saw in the games and the first days in training. I think every experience makes you stronger. The strongest teams I played in where teams that were two, three years together. And those were teams that had a lot of experience together, good but also bad, because you not only become stronger out of good experiences, also out of bad experiences if you take the right conclusions together. So every experience with this group will make it stronger. Of course, winning in Seville, winning a Cup, winning the first silverware, proving a lot of things that had been said not so long time ago about these players that it was wrong. So they need to continue doing that and keeping this hunger, if they keep the hunger, if they keep the collectivity also, if they keep this solidarity that it’s not important to start or not to start, that they understand that story, and that it’s not about them but about the team, then we’re going to make an amazing season. I am confident about that. The moment players start to think about themselves and putting themselves out of the collective it will be more difficult but then we’re going to speak with them. It’s going to happen, I’m not naive. And I know if there is success there are also a lot of people around the players who are influential or try to become influential more and more. So yeah then we have to make it clear that it’s about the collective and if the collective is good, then the individual is also good, because it works like that in a team sport.”
Phillipe, given the amount of games you’ve got are you with a view to trying to change your team for this game tomorrow night, change personnel?
“I’ve changed every game until now. I don’t think I’ve played two games with the same team until now. And to be honest, I don’t know. I think it’s a case until now. I will see what’s necessary for this game and also thinking for the games ahead. That’s my job also; not only to look short term but also long term. What’s necessary for the team, for the squad, for the dynamic, for everything. And to win games. And to play good football. So that’s my responsibility.”
Do you have any players who might return for tomorrow?
“No players who were not available for the Cup Final. There are no other players coming back.”
Do you have a timescale for Jose Cifuentes?
“No I don’t have a timescale but a few days ago we thought it was worse, now he get a good reaction after rehab so I hope it can be that he can be back before the winter break.”
And Ryan Jack?
“Ryan Jack, that we will see if it’s before the winter break or not, that’s really tight.”
Is Kemar Roofe ready to start games?
“He’s not ready to play 90 minutes so then it’s my choice to make if he starts or he doesn’t start but not for 90 minutes.”
Is it fair to say that things could not conceivably have gone any better for you since you arrived?
“No because we lost some points along the way, so it could’ve been better.”
So winning a trophy, winning your Europa League group?
“Yeah, no I am happy, let’s be clear about that. No I am happy. I am most happy because the players, and that needs to be important, it’s the players, they made a big change and I see a totally different dressing room than two months go, in everything. In energy, in belief, in communication, in fighting spirit. So I am really happy about that, so it’s really short term to change these things and there’s not one manager in the world who knows how fast things can go because it’s about the reaction of other people, how they react to the story. I know what we want to do with them, that if they step in a good way into it, then it works, that I know. But it’s about the players. They have to do it. And the whole group has done it. I don’t have one player in this dressing room who is not into that story and who is not ready for the team for the moment. So that I want to keep for as long as possible. And the guys who get difficulty with that they put themselves out of the story. So I am really satisfied about that for the moment and if you do those things and you have enough ‘balance’ then you get results. It works that way.”
You talk about having an amazing season if the players keep the hunger, keep the focus and keep together. What constitutes an amazing season? Being champions?
“I am not thinking about because that depends also on how many points other teams take. So we need to be on our toes every day to get the best out of ourselves so will see at the end of the road what the result will be. And the game of football is also a game that the factor of luck is also sometimes determined in things. I said it already one time, in other sports like basketball or volleyball, these kind of sports where you score a lot of points, the factor of luck is less determined than in football where every result is sometimes one or two goals and that makes the difference of winning things or not. So in that way you can do a lot of things really good and perform really well and maybe somebody else has a little bit more luck and they win a trophy because of that. So we need to focus on the things we can control. Control the controlables. That’s our job in that way and that’s what we’re going to do until the end of the season.”
Philippe how impressed have you been with Dujon, the way he’s just stepped in when he’s been asked to step up?
“Impressed is maybe not a good word because then you didn’t have that belief before. I think if, my English is not that good to go that much into detail about words. No I expected it from him, what I saw in the training. And I told the club already that he’s going to become a really important player for the future.”
What sort of test do you expect from St Johnstone?
“A hard battle. I saw the game against Celtic, they made it a hard battle. It could’ve been 2-2 in one moment. Very well organised team, a lot of power, transition play, set-pieces. So yeah, a big test three days after this Cup Final. A big test also about mentality for my team. To see after the satisfaction, what they deserved, and I told them also they had to enjoy Sunday evening, how fast can they switch. Because that for me the top sport mentality, the real winners, they switch really fast. They can be really happy but the next day they are back in this winning mode to focus again, to have concentration again. Their body is prepared. So in that way it’s a really big test tomorrow.”
Philippe can I ask a question about the standard of the game. One of the other managers has said the standard of the league is ‘rubbish’ and ‘shocking’. You’ve managed in at least another couple of countries if I’m right, what did you make of the standard of Scottish football since you’ve been here?
“That it’s really comparable with the Belgian league. And I think if you want to compare you need to look also how teams perform in Europe. I don’t like these bold sentences after a deception (disappointment) and then compare everything and throw everything in one bag. I think there were already interesting things in Europe from Scottish teams. I know the league until now is what I expected from the league. It’s really comparable with the Belgian league and they are both leagues not with the most money and both leagues that they need to be smart, developing players, looking also to produce players. In that way for me there’s one disadvantage towards the Belgian league for the moment in Scotland, it may be an interesting moment to talk about that. You see of course there are a lot of teams fighting to stay into the league, so they are focused on results. In Holland a long time ago, and in Belgium in recent years, they put the best U21 teams in the second league and it helped also to develop young players. If I see to our national team, our golden generation – (Thomas) Vermaelen, (Jan) Vertonghen, all these good players and several others – they played in second league first. In the second team of Ajax, or in Vertonghen played in RKC (Waalwijk) in second league before they went to the first team of Ajax. Same is happening in Belgium the last couple of years. And you see because of that you have better development of young players, because for the moment I don’t think that enough young Scottish players are given chances because of all the pressure on the story to stay in the first league and it can be an interesting one for the future I think.”
Philippe I’m sure when you first came here you’ll have had many people tell you how great the fans are at Ibrox. I think at the weekend you’ve had the first chance to really feel what the fans can be like after a big victory.
“Yes but not the first time. We had already a few moments, like the Sparts Prague game for example. No it didn’t surprise me and I said it already several times. Those are the things why I want to stay as a coach and why I want to stay in this world. Nothing is as nice as being on the pitch and really being decisive in a game. And I think as a player you still have more control on things than as a manager. Maybe now more guiding everything but as a player you can be really decisive, you can score the decisive goal for example. So the feeling that Tav had after the game, you cannot have it in another way in this world, but I’m the closest with the body I have now to be there. So I enjoy that really much and I didn’t do it enough during my career. I didn’t do it enough in moments afterwards also as a manager because I’m always thinking for the next thing already and it was the case also on Sunday. But I am now more convinced I need to enjoy that moment also and I did so was really good and now back to business.”
One player I wanted to ask you about as well. Before you came in Bailey Rice had a few first-team appearances and just now your squad is slightly light with injuries in midfield, is he still a player that’s in and around the first team training with the squad or looking to get his way into a matchday squad soon?
“I don’t like to speak too much about individuals but OK I will speak about Bailey (Rice) because he knows. He’s for me a really talented player and I think he has a great future in this club but there are also some points we need to work on which are different Academy football and the first team, for sure without ball. So that’s a really important step to make and he’s going to make that step. If he makes that step then he’s going to be pushing for positions in the first team.”
Philippe just how beneficial and important do you think it’ll be to have guys like Ross McCausland come through the Academy, experiencing days and celebrations like Sunday?
“It’s crucial for everything. It’s crucial for Ross (McCausland). Like I said before, every experience makes you stronger. And it’s in every career. It’s in your day’s life also, the young journalist it is different than the older journalist, who have more experience in some situations. So it’s the same for Ross. But not only for Ross, it’s for all the Academy. If they see now Ross performing in that way, Ross winning trophies. Adam (Devine) and Cole (McKinnon) were in the selection. Now they were celebrating with the team. After the game, in the last trophy that Rangers won, they were downstairs. So those are really great things for them and really great experiences.”
Philippe obviously your squad’s been tested with the amount of injuries you’ve had, has that made you change your view in terms of what you might have to do come the window next month in terms of additions?
“Yeah we take that into account. You need to take that into account.”
So has your view changed? Previously you might think you want one or two or whatever, what’s your thinking, not in terms of numbers, but how significant do you think that might be?
“No it’s more about players and how available are they for the club so that’s going to be important in making good decisions also.”
