Philippe Clement wants to win every game and he has already witnessed what happens at Rangers when you don’t.
The fallout from the draws to Aberdeen and Aris Limassol was born out of frustration but the Gers boss wasn’t the sole target for criticism – if anything, he escaped largely unscathed other than his decision to keep Sam Lammers on the park against the Cypriots.
Against Hearts, Philippe Clement will face one of his toughest tasks yet as Rangers manager against a side buoyant from a run of good results with one factor in particular a cause for concern.
Philippe Clement faces tough Rangers test at Tynecastle
Tynecastle is always a difficult place to go but there is one element of the performance at Pittodrie that has to be improved.
It wasn’t for the want of trying or through not creating enough chances that Philippe Clement didn’t bring all three points back to Ibrox with Rangers.
Kelle Roos made a couple of top drawer saves but there was a rustiness about the attack in terms of being clinical.
It was better against St Mirren, however, there were still occasions when players were shooting when they should have squared it and vice versa.
Bringing Todd Cantwell back into his favoured number ten role helped, as did having natural pace and width on the flanks.
Whether or not Philippe Clement will be as adventurous in midfield remains to be seen but Tom Lawrence is a quality footballer and more than capable of adjusting his game.
Also, I’d rather have someone alongside John Lundstram who isn’t going to give the ball away every other time he has it.
What Phillipe Clement has to do is find a way for Rangers to break down what has been a resolute Hearts defence in recent weeks.
The dramatic late win at Ibrox is exactly the type of game we should expect again and the habit of conceding, stupid, early goals has to be nipped in the bud.
This is exactly the type of game that is looked back on if titles are won, or lost.
