Rangers fans were not best pleased when Connor Barron was subbed towards the end of the win over Hearts.
Boos rung around Ibrox when the midfielder was withdrawn to be replaced by Dujon Sterling after 68 minutes.
Supporters had been pleased with the contribution of the midfielder in the game and also in recent ones, particularly the Europa League draw against Olympiacos midweek.
Barron has impressed in a Rangers shirt since signing from Aberdeen in the summer and has become a favourite of the fan base.
Clement asked about Rangers fan boos
The audible boos were hard to miss when the 22-year-old made his way towards the side of the pitch to allow Sterling on.
It was just as clear that they were aimed at the fact Barron was being taken off rather than anything else.
So it’s no surprise the manager was asked about it post-match.
And he has explained it was simply down to managing his minutes amid a hectic workload, which he has done with others like Jefte in recent weeks.
Clement told Premier Sports: “They (the fans) don’t know everything, of course. I’m very pleased about Connor and what he is doing in this game and the games before. He has been massive.
“But it is also managing players who are getting tired, who have never played so many minutes in their career at this level.
“So it’s managing Connor also in this way.
“I think the fans will be less pleased if he gets an injury because he played too much or too long.
“I understand that fans don’t know all the facts.”
Clement takes aim at Dessers detractors
In the same interview, Clement took aim at those who have been criticising Cyriel Dessers.
The Nigerian striker scored his 10th goal of the season to earn his side the win.
And his manager insists people have been too quick to talk him down ahead of other strikers in the league who are not doing as much as him.
He said: “Yeah, he’s an enigma in that way that he gets a lot of criticism and maybe other strikers in the league get much less criticism although they miss more chances and score less goals.
“That is something that has been going on but the most important thing is that he’s not living that life and he’s just giving his best every time for the team.
“And he’s scored a lot of goals also this season.”
