Rangers saw Todd Cantwell back to his best against St Mirren yesterday in what was a big call by Philippe Clement.
The Gers boss comes across as a non-nonsense type of guy and not one to hold grudges, he certainly doesn’t look like he has lost any sleep over the fallout of his decision against Aris Limassol.
This season fans have barely seen Todd Cantwell at number ten but his Ibrox display has shown that this is his best position, it has also shown that he has listened to his manager, as told to Rangers TV.
Todd Cantwell given Rangers backing by Philippe Clement
We’ve learned a lot about both Cantwell and Clement this week in that they have exactly the mentality needed to be a success at Rangers.
The former because of his clear determination to bounce back from a poor performance and the latter in that he knows the qualities of his players and when one just has an off night.
When asked if Todd Cantwell’s performance had justified his inclusion as Rangers main playmaker, Philippe Clement replied, via RTV:
“You guys are to decide about that, I already selected him. For me his selection was already assured before.
“We talked about the game on Thursday and he agreed that he was not doing what he should do. He was frustrated himself about that. So this was the reaction I wanted to see.
“It’s a team sport. Otherwise we need to become a tennis player or something!
“You’re part of a team, Todd is part of a team. We talked about that. We know it’s a better position for him but we also have to look at the other circumstances with all the injuries.”
Rarely does Clement say something that doesn’t add up or doesn’t make sense, he shoots from the hip.
Even amidst the early substitution he backed Cantwell and praised him for helping the team out playing in an unnatural position.
Once he calmed down, the player would have reacted positively to this and the boss speaking to his players 1 to 1 is clearly having the desired effect.
Let’s hope it continues.
