There was more than just three points at stake as Rangers took on Ross County, a place at the top of the table wasn’t essential but it would have been another sign that Philippe Clement knows what he is doing.
The Gers boss had his team fired up and there can’t really be many complaints about a game plan and series of substitutions that saw 43 attempts at goal including over half of that number on target in a near Ibrox onslaught.
In the past, especially at 1-1, the crowd could have affected the performance but, despite the odd moan and groan, Philippe Clement reckons that his squad is now focussed on only winning in a Rangers shirt.
Rangers keeping level heads under Philippe Clement
We’ve seen on too many occasions, players throwing the game plan out the window and just firing cross, after cross, into a packed penalty area.
It would have been easy to do this against Ross County but Clement has this team better drilled with a message that isn’t going to change.
When asked in his post-match press conference if he felt that the fans need to be more patient and if the players could react negatively, he said:
“I didn’t have the feeling also on the pitch that it happened today but that’s the danger indeed.
“If you start to live the life of fans on the field then you will not reach your goals so we need to step out of that.
“I am really proud the way the players did that today because they never became nervous they only showed hunger and ambition for more and more and more.”
Clement is right, nothing changed at 1-1.
We reset and started again, peppering the Ross County box with through balls despite them playing with three centre-halves.
The wingers were committing the wing-backs and full-backs were tucking inside so that, if possession was lost, it could be won back quicker.
The mentality has been, rightly, questioned in the past and, for all that nothing has been won yet, Rangers are definitely heading in the right direction.
