Rangers manager Philippe Clement has been keen to focus on the potential in his squad as his team toil in the Scottish Premiership.
But several members of the Belgian manager’s first-team squad have painted a different picture.
One year on from Clement’s appointment and the vultures are circling as Rangers find themselves 3rd in the Scottish top flight table.
But whilst big Phil is determined to look to the future, there are already plenty of disgruntled soundbites coming out of a dressing room who know the present is not good enough.
Dujon Sterling drew Philippe Clement response
Rangers are currently sweating on the fitness of versatile defender Dujon Sterling, who has yet to really have an impact on the season.
Under Clement, the right-back turned utility man came into his own last season but this campaign Sterling’s progress has slowed despite the player being handed a new contract.
Back in April, Clement defended his Rangers team after a 0-0 draw away to Dundee which all but ended the club’s league title hopes.
“It’s not the result I wanted,” Clement told Sky Sports at the time.
“But on the other side, the reaction, we bossed it today for the whole game.
“Our structure, we created enough chances to win the game but the ball didn’t go in and that’s the story of today.”
Dujon Sterling had a slightly different interpretation of events – to put it mildly – and branded the Rangers performance an expletive which drew a reaction from Clement.
“It is not good enough on our part,” said Sterling. “We have a lot of work to do and we need to reset.
“We need to get our heads in the game, switch our mentality because for now it is not going in the right direction.
“There is still a lot of games to be played and there’s still things to fight for. It is just disappointing.”
Clement responded: “It is the words of a player who is disappointed because we lost points.”
Jack Butland criticised manager’s ’approach’
Fast forward to season 24/25 and it’s not just Dujon Sterling who has had a swipe at Rangers for a stuttering performance.
Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland rinsed the tactics employed during the Europa League clash against Lyon, where a wasteful Gers were humbled 4-1 by the Ligue 1 outfit.
Speaking after the game, Jack Butland lambasted the Gers ‘approach’ and publicly called into question the tactics used in the defeat.
“We needed a different approach,” said Butland.
“There wasn’t enough from us at the moments we needed to foul and stop them getting into their stride.
“We gave them easy opportunities to showcase their serious individual talent.”
Clement himself pointed to missed chances and reckons his team started the game with ‘good intentions’.
The Rangers manager reckons the final scoreline was also ‘harsh’ on his team, who had started the game brightly.
“I think we started the game with good intentions, with good intensity, with good quality also,” said Clement.
“We did a lot of good things, but the goalkeeper made a really good save for the chance of Tav, but he could have put the ball also sideways, where we have two players totally free to tap the ball in, and Vaclav is also a tap-in to a free goal.
“So I don’t think we can do much more than creating those kind of chances, I don’t think you can create better chances than that, but you need to kill them off.
“Against teams with this quality, you don’t get so many chances, so that’s disappointing.
“But 1-4 is a really harsh result, if you see. In the end, it’s the same amount of chances that both teams have, and we had more in the first half, but it was 1-3 with half-time, and that’s the difference in quality. So it’s a big working point for us.”
Philippe Clement then took a dig at Jack Butland for being caught in ‘no man’s land’ for the Kilmarnock goal in the weekend’s 1-0 Scottish Premiership defeat.
Leon Balogun tells it like it is; some clearly aren’t listening
Rangers defender Leon Balogun has been over the course with the Ibrox side before but cut a disconsolate figure come full-time against Kilmarnock.
Asked about the reaction of the fans, Balogun claimed that Rangers were not good enough against Killie and that the support are well justified to question the team’s mentality.
“The supporters really give their all to support us everywhere, near and far,” Balogun told the press after the game.
“But it comes with something. You can’t just take that for granted. I’m not saying anyone does. But you have to know that if you don’t deliver, it can be uncomfortable.
“And you have to try to live up to their expectations as much as you can.
“It’s not always reasonable what you then receive. I’m not for abuse of any sorts. But the criticism that comes up after a day like that, I think you have to face it.
“You have to understand them. You have to understand what this club stands for, the history of the club.
“If you sign for this club, you have to know that there’s a lot of expectation. And if you don’t live up to that expectation, there might be really uncomfortable moments.”
In contrast, Philippe Clement has urged fans to stick with his young side who are still getting used to the conditions and rigours of playing football at Ibrox.
When the manager was asked how he can turn things around at Rangers, Clement once again pleaded for patience.
“There are a lot of players new here, first time playing at Kilmarnock,” Clement told the press. “The longer they play here, the more they’re used to the circumstances.
“The longer this team plays together, the better they will become and the more they will learn out of the mistakes made and the good moments also.
“The good things that they did together, what they did already the last couple of weeks.
“It’s about working hard; working hard, staying together, digging in and getting results.
“That’s the only way to get fans behind you, not the other way around.”
Later Clement added: “I will be focused on the sportive side to get the best out of this squad, what the squad is now.
“We spoke about that. To do that in one transfer window was impossible with the finances at this moment.
“We’re going to work really hard with this squad, and there is a lot of potential in this squad. Much more potential than people see maybe for the moment.”
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