That Rangers successfully navigated the first phase of the Europa League while cutting the gap at the top of the Premiership table is testament to the previously unseen versatility of Philippe Clement’s squad.
Players being trialled in new positions – square pegs in round holes, as they say – has been a common feature at Ibrox during a defensive injury crisis.
Ridvan Yilmaz has played at right-back, and did a more than creditable job there too. James Tavernier impressed Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand in an unfamiliar centre-half role as Rangers ran the Red Devils close at Ibrox.
And, as goals from Nico Raskin and Vaclav Cerny vanquished Union Saint Gilloise and secured a top-eight finish ahead of Bodo/Glimt, it was the turn of winger Ross McCausland to showcase his versatile streak.
Replacing Leon King as the seldom-seen youngster joined the walking wounded, Tavernier again shifted to the centre while McCausland stepped in at right full-back.
- READ MORE: Rangers Europa League Record Since 2017
Philippe Clement explains Vaclav Cerny sub as Rangers beat Union Saint Gilloise
Clement describes King’s issue as a ‘serious concussion’. Fortunately, he was the only Rangers player who found himself unable to continue on a night when John Souttar made his return to Ibrox action after six weeks unavailable.
And, with Rangers 2-0 up before the hour, Clement had the luxury of being able to rest Hamza Igamane, Nedim Bajrami and the aforementioned Cerny. Three of the players who have accumulated the most minutes either side of an exhausting festive schedule, and were therefore ripe for a niggle or an untimely tear.
A hamstring strain kept Cerny out of the weekend’s 3-1 win at Dundee United.
And as the Czech Republic international was spotted stretching his piano-wire muscles four days later, that was all the motivation Clement needed to remove him from the fray shortly after Cerny converted a wonderful Cyriel Dessers assist to take his tally to 13 on loan from German outfit Wolfsburg.
“We had to make some changes,” Clement explains. “Vaclav had problems with his hamstring last week. He was stretching one moment so it’s dangerous to take risks with those kinds of things.
“Also you saw Nedim and Hamza, they were getting tired. So we threw the young boys in for them. It was also a big experience [for the youngsters].”
Fresh from his assist at Tannadice, Zak Lovelace was rewarded with a few minutes off the bench as USG ensured a nervy finish thanks to Kevin Mac Allister’s 83rd minute header. Lovelace’s fellow 18-year-old Paul Nsio made his European bow, meanwhile, in place of Bajrami.
And while the absences of Souttar, Tavernier, Dujon Sterling, Tom Lawrence, Neraysho Kasanwirjo and co have certainly stretched Rangers’ resources, Clement is taking a silver lining approach to a bonafide injury crisis.
Clement hails Rangers squad as Europa League progress is secured
Out of adversity comes opportunity. McCausland, Yilmaz and Tavernier certainly took theirs while impressing in new roles, while Lovelace and Nsio might have remained on the bench if a gruelling work load had not left Igamane and Bajrami running on fumes.
“I think it’s a massive achievement of all the squad. And it’s really squad, it’s not team. It’s not 11 players or 14, 15 players, but all the squad has been involved in that way,” Clement smiles. “And it was necessary to see it also.
“Today, again with Leon King. He had to come off with a serious concussion, because he could not see anymore. But everybody dug in, did the job, and did the job brilliantly.”
Rangers’ top eight finish means they accumulated more points during the revamped Europa League than such continental luminaries as Ajax, Roma, Real Sociedad, Porto and Galatasaray.
No one could accuse the Gers of a kind fixture list, meanwhile. Man United, Tottenham, Olympiakos and Lyon all did battle with Clement’s team this term.
“It’s not only being in this top eight. If you look at all the teams that finished behind you, there are really massive clubs with massive budgets,” Clement pointsout. “But also in this top eight, from the seven other teams, we played against four of them.
“So that makes the achievement only bigger I think.”
