What was it the the one-time Rangers forward Sir Alex Ferguson once said about the importance of defences?
Philippe Clement’s Rangers might not be a team capable of fighting for the Premiership crown right now – the gap between them and Old Firm rivals Celtic is still eight points – but a rock-solid backline is certainly providing some pretty sturdy foundations for a brighter future.
As Vaclav Cerny fired Rangers past Dundee at Ibrox on a baltic Saturday afternoon, the home side added another clean sheet to their ever-growing collection.
In fact, this is now Rangers’ best run of clean sheets in Scotland’s top flight since December 2021, the opening weeks of the Giovanni van Bronckhorst era.
Dundee’s hopes appeared to grow considerably then The Gers’ trusty shot-stopper was ruled out in the warm-up – Philippe Clement confirmed that Jack Butland was unavailable for ‘personal reasons’ – but back-up Liam Kelly was hardly tested as Robin Propper and Dujon Sterling impressed in a new-look central defensive partnership.
Philippe Clement delighted as Rangers continue clean sheet run against Dundee
Rangers lost John Souttar to injury in that Europa League draw with Tottenham Hotspur. The club’s ‘best defender’ across 2024/25, to quote Clement.
But as Propper continues to settle into life in Glasgow, and with the versatile Sterling adding another string to his bow, even a Souttar-less backline feels increasingly unpenetrable.
In Premiership action, at least.
For Clement, speaking to the media at full-time, a win which took Rangers above Aberdeen into second-place was very much warranted. The Belgian’s frustration, however, is that his team did not take one of their many chances to tie up the victory while hitting the crossbar on no fewer than four occasions.
“The important thing is the three points and it was well deserved. Defensively, we did a good job,” Clement says “We always want to give our fans more than 1-0. We want to score three, four. The crossbar didn’t help today.
“We could have done better, scoring more goals and being more efficient in the final third, especially in the second-half. Then, we kill the belief of the opponent but its a well deserved victory and that’s also very good.
“It is a win we deserve. We had the ball the whole game and then its watching for the transitions of Dundee. In the end, Liam Kelly did not have to make a single save.”
Vaclav Cerny scores the winner as Clement hails response
Rangers legend Barry Ferguson lauded Nico Raskin in the build-up to Saturday’s clash, and he maintained his outstanding form with a typically tigerish display in the centre of the park against Tony Docherty’s side.
The ever-creative Ianis Hagi again justified his own inclusion too. Cerny, meanwhile, is now Rangers’ top scorer in the Premiership this season, rounding Trevor Carson before netting his seventh goal of the season just after half-time.
Clement was pleased to see his side fly out of the blocks after the interval.
“You come out of the dressing room in a good way. We could [make] some tweaks during half-time, where to find spaces,” adds the former Monaco boss. “You score directly [after kick-off] and then you should score the second goal and then you kill the belief more.
“Now, the opponent stays in the game in a way until the last second because something can fall out of the sky that you get a chance against and you can concede a goal because that can always happen in football.
“But the positive thing is that we didn’t give away really chances.”
