Hindsight, as they say, is a wonderful thing. And, knowing what he knows now ahead of Rangers’ Europa League clash with Tottenham Hotspur, Philippe Clement may have made a very different decision.
At the start of September, after Rangers had been knocked out of the Champions League by Dynamo Kiev, Philippe Clement was tasked with picking his Europa League squad for the competition’s first phase.
At the time, Danilo was struggling with an injury which continued to put the breaks on his Ibrox career. Ianis Hagi, meanwhile, was out of favour and out of Clement’s plans amid a contract dispute. The Rangers boss insisted at the time that, as long as he remained in the Ibrox dugout, Hagi would not be taking to the field again.
The Romania international even lost his number ten shirt following the permanent signing of Mohamed Diomande.
Three months on, is that a decision Clement now regrets? If he could turn back the clock – knowing how integral both Danilo and Hagi would become to Rangers’ recent resurgence – would he have thought twice about restricting their continental involvement?
Well, speaking ahead of Ange Postecoglou’s return to Glasgow on Thursday night, Clement insists that, due to the ‘circumstances’ he found back in September, leaving Hagi and Danilo out was still the right move even if it might not have aged particularly well.
- READ MORE: Rangers Europa League Record Since 2017
Philippe Clement reflects on Rangers’ Danilo and Ianis Hagi omission
“It’s a little bit pity, of course, to have Danilo and Haji not in the selection in that way,” Clement says during his pre-match press conference. “But that was a decision that we had to make in the beginning of September.
“And, with the circumstances that were there at that moment, it’s still the right decision.”
Rangers head into that Tottenham clash on the back of successive wins by an aggregate score of 9-0. It is no coincidence that their most fluid, free-scoring displays of the entire campaign have come with Danilo and Hagi back in the starting XI.
Danilo, arguably the most technically-gifted member of Clement’s squad, has thrived in a new-look partnership with the prolific Hamza Igamane. Danilo scored in Rangers’ 3-0 thumping of Ross County on Sunday, just four days after he found the net in the six-goal thrashing of St Johnstone.
Hagi, meanwhile, provided two assists against Simo Valaraki’s team.
Clement impressed by Rangers ‘evolution’ ahead of Tottenham clash
In their absence – and the continued loss of Tom Lawrence – Clement may stick to an approach which worked wonders last time out in the Europa League.
Hamza Igamane inspired Rangers’ 4-1 victory away to Nice, though Diomande produced one of his finest performances in recent months just behind the rampaging Moroccan. Nedim Bajrami is another option to play in that number ten role.
“It is [about] finding a little bit of a new balance for this game,” Clement adds. “[My team is going through] the evolution that we wanted. Maybe we wanted it faster, but I think we’re in a good place.
“If you see everything we had to do from the start of the season until now, with all the circumstances, it’s very clear for everybody to see that the team is becoming better and better. That there were a few really good results and really good performances.
“So, we want to continue in that way.”
