Philippe Clement is a man who doesn’t have his troubles to seek at the moment as Rangers take one step forward and five back at every turn.
A deadline day that nearly got exciting fizzled out with the manager still short of two key positions in the squad that the Old Firm derby highlighted once again.
The lack of quality on the wings continues to hamstring the Gers boss with players who lack composure in the big moments costing Rangers dear.
One other problem is in front of the defence with a midfielder who is a natural at putting out fires and controlling the tempo, Clement saying that Rangers tried to solve it in the summer window doing little to ease the frustration of what fans saw at Parkhead.
Philippe Clement knew Rangers midfield problem but didn’t fit it
Other than not shooting themselves in the foot by gifting chances, the one big advantage Celtic have in every derby is Callum McGregor.
He’s the one player who they struggle to cope without and who makes them tick.
Rangers have had a bad habit of signing hybrid midfielders in recent years neglecting specialists in key positions.
Linked with Oussama Targhaline and Joan Jordan, Clement now has to make do with what he’s got:
“We talked about that in the club and that was the initial plan,” Clement said on signing a deep-lying midfielder.
“So we need to now find solutions within the squad to do that, in a different way to before.
“Connor Barron is filling that role. Dujon Sterling can fill that role. Nico Raskin can fill that role. But it’s in a different way to Lunny.
“We don’t need to play in the same way we did last season. It’s about what suits the qualities of the squad best. And we’re going to find solutions for that.”
Rangers can still solve number six problem
The thing is, Clement doesn’t have to make do.
There are two players who have been linked with Rangers recently who are available as free agents.
Steven Alzate and Davy Klaasen.
Both have experience of European, international and elite level football and would immediately slot in as natural deep playmakers.
Putting square pegs into round holes just doesn’t work.
What Clement could also do is shift his number 10 into more of a number 8 with a license to get forward, similar to how Joe Aribo and Scott Arfield did for Steven Gerrard.
Rangers fans could pick Celtic’s strongest team, pretty much every Scottish football fan knows what it is, however, Philippe Clement still doesn’t truly know who he does and doesn’t trust.
The transfer window might have shut but this doesn’t mean the manager can’t fix what was a glaringly obvious Parkhead problem.
