Philippe Clement is clearly a manager who is all about the team and one who has proven in his short time at Rangers that he can get the best out of players.
The Gers boss has overseen a long list of players in his squad who have improved but it is his continued backing of Ross McCausland that says a lot about the qualities that he values most.
The 20-year old has come in for some criticism on social media recently but Philippe Clement reckons that the Rangers winger is destined for bigger things, via The Herald.
Philippe Clement fires back to defend Ross McCausland
It has been a whirlwind season for McCausland.
It was Zak Lovelace who was impressing before a serious hamstring injury to the England youth cap saw McCausland get his chance.
Breaking through from Rangers academy is one thing but keeping your place is an altogether different proposition.
That the 20-year old was offered and signed a new long-term deal shows exactly how highly he is now regarded.
The problem, if you can call it that, is that for all Ross McCausland’s neat and tidy play as well as his unquestionable work rate, he is scoring goals in the league at a rate of one every 1000 minutes, give or take.
Not exactly the sort of return that you would expect from a Rangers forward.
As expected though, Philippe Clement has dismissed the criticism and claims that McCausland will only go in one direction if he ever leaves Rangers:
“I don’t know what people are saying, but I don’t care also what people say about my players.
“I see a player who was four months ago playing in the second team and who has been important in several games already this season.
“It is a big step up from playing for the second team to playing with Rangers. It is not only about goals and statistics. It is about all the other things you do. How he presses, how he wins balls. How he keeps possession for the team. How he works, how he is in the building.
“Because of his mindset and focus and hunger, he will make an amazing career. Rangers will not be the last or the highest place that he will play.”
The soft skills that Clement talks about are all fair and well, but the gaffer isn’t stupid.
He will know that goals and assists are all that a winger is truly judged on and McCausland has to up his numbers.
The reality is though, he shouldn’t have to start so many games and mistakes made with recruitment are why he has been thrown in at the deep-end.
Oscar Cortes has made a great first impression and Rabbi Matondo is starting to produce numbers, work rate alone just isn’t enough.
Philippe Clement may well be right in that McCausland goes on to have a great career but, for now, Rangers need more, despite what the boss says.
