While a shot at the Scottish Premiership title may have already slipped through their fingers, Philippe Clement’s Rangers appear to be hitting their stride.
Yes, Rangers were unconvincing against Dundee last time out. Yes, they lost on penalties to Old Firm rivals Celtic in the League Cup final.
Yet, with five wins out of seven and no defeats in normal play, Philippe Clement has a new-look Rangers team – one in transition – laying the foundations for a brighter 2025.
Last week, Clement highlighted Hamza Igamane and Jefte Vital as ‘good examples’ of his team’s progress. Two players new to Scottish football growing in confidence and influence with pretty much every game that goes by.
Robin Propper is showing signs of adapting to the physicality of the local game, too, while Vaclav Cerny, Nedim Bajrami and Danilo have been integral to that impressive recent run.
Clement, meanwhile, is also keen to highlight a young midfield which still has a long way to go before it reaches it’s true potential. Nico Raskin has been in sensational form of late. The Belgian, like Mohamed Diomande, is still only 23.
And while Connor Barron arrived at Ibrox having made 60 Premiership appearances for Aberdeen, he is just 22.
Philippe Clement hails Nico Raskin progress as Rangers’ midfield shines
Speaking ahead of Rangers’ Boxing Day clash with St Mirren, Clement also pointed out that Raskin only made his return to selection in September after a long spell on the sidelines.
To think, some had wondered if the former Standard Liege ace was on his way out of Glasgow.
“Don’t forget that Nico Raskin was injured for eight, nine months. So, in the beginning, it’s impossible to be at your best after that long out,” Clement told reporters during his press conference on Wednesday.
“Diomande is here less than a year [arriving initially on loan from Nordsjaelland in January]. He had to adapt to things. Barron knows the league but is still a young player who can still grow. That’s normal for the three of them.
“They are in the midfield. It’s important to win the duels, it’s important in Scotland. People always say this about Scotland but the Belgian league is also the same, in the French league it was the same. It’s not as if you don’t have physicality there.
“You need it in every league. I think in every good league, it’s a big part of football, an important part of football. If you don’t have the basics by winning these duels, you have problems.
“It’s not like a Spanish team who can just play balls in between lines and then win games, that’s not possible in this league.”
Mohamed Diomande pushes Connor Barron to Rangers’ bench
Raskin’s ball-winning statistics are bordering on the remarkable at present.
Only one midfielder in the whole of this season’s Europa League averages more than his four successful tackles per 90 minutes. Raskin won the ball back a staggering nine times as Rangers obliterated Romanian giants FCSB 4-0 at Ibrox.
Diomande is also growing in prominence. Shifted back to a deeper role after a few underwhelming displays as a number ten, the Ivorian was excellent against Celtic at Hampden Park.
In fact, Diomande and Raskin have been so effective as a partnership that Barron – arguably Rangers’ stand-out performer in the season’s opening weeks – started on the bench versus Celtic, Tottenham and Dundee.
