Philippe Clement has made a few big decisions in recent weeks as Rangers look to gather some sort of momentum.
The manager dropped James Tavernier and then Cyriel Dessers from the starting XI and there has been an improvement in performance, even if goals are still a struggle domestically.
Clement isn’t a popular figure amongst the Ibrox faithful right now, but team news does support his claim that patience is needed for Rangers to click and that he has been listening to criticism.
Philippe Clement has valid Rangers point after team news
Speaking ahead of the Scottish Premiership clash with Kilmarnock, the Gers boss made a valid point about the current team:
“You always want better, but the last couple of weeks, we gave a lot of time in the box,” he said when asked about the lack of goals.
“We had a lot of good chances that were saved really well against the (Dundee) United and St Johnstone also.
“You always want more, of course, but you need to create this automatism between players. In that way, from last season, look at the starting line-up offensively.
“There’s not one player from last season who started, for example, the last game. We have a lot of new players in that area also. You need to find connections.”
Clement’s team selection is an attacking one and he has clearly tried to get as many goals as possible into his team.
Patience is running out, but the Gers boss can’t be accused of not trying to find a way.
Why Clement shouldn’t be afforded the same time as players
Since the second half against Dundee Utd at Ibrox, there has been a marked improvement in terms of intent.
Sitting in third place in the league and 11 points behind Celtic though, there needs to be more than intent at this stage of the season.
Dick Advocaat got an almost immediate tune out of his new side when he replaced Walter Smith, and a bigger budget isn’t an excuse.
He loaded his team with players capable of scoring goals and it looks like Clement is following his example.
The players will be afforded time to gel if they keep winning and there are signs that they are on the right tracks, but Clement won’t be afforded the same luxury.
