Rangers took the handbrake off against Nice and proved that there are enough good players to pull themselves out the mire.
Philippe Clement isn’t out of the woods yet in terms of his position as manager, however, his bravery with the starting XI to face Nice shows that he is will to make big decisions.
One decision that looks stranger every game – even in poor results – was the reluctance to play Nicolas Raskin who is now, arguably, Rangers most valuable player.
Nicolas Raskin on fire as he makes Rangers tick again
With an 85% pass success rate and one key pass, the diminutive Belgian was at the heart of everything good that Clement wants to see from his team and worth every penny of his 9/10 player rating.
Raskin, 23, was committed, dynamic and aggressive with and without the ball with the sort of display that has become his norm in a struggling side.
A previous question about who could eventually take the armband from James Tavernier now has a new answer.
What Raskin’s form proves though, is that Clement still struggles to make changes before it is too late and to be proactive.
It looked as though the Rangers No.43 was on his way out of Ibrox only to be given a chance through injury to other players.
Clement challenged Raskin to be the player that he is capable of being and he has responded emphatically.
What does Clement want to see vs St Johnstone?
What Raskin et al need to do now is replicate their Europa League form domestically.
If they do, it might just get the fans back on side and keep Clement in a job, with the Gers boss optimistic that consistency isn’t far away:
“I’m not alone in that. There are 50,000 people which will help in that way. All our fans.
“They know they need to win these games domestically also. And it’s a culture we need to create with players who are maybe not used to doing that every three days.
“I’m pushing on that already for weeks, for months. I see a good evolution in that way. We didn’t get our reward in the weekend, in the second half where the team was playing really good and creating these chances.
“Now it’s against St Johnstone, so finishing off also those things and to play 90 minutes like that. And that’s the challenge now for the next couple of weeks and months to create this winning culture.”
If Raskin can drag others around him up to his a level, Clement might just be right
