Every word from Philippe Clement ahead of his first Old Firm derby

The Belgian was questioned about the fitness of three first-team squad members and why the Ross County postponement is a negative rather than a positive.
Furthermore, Clement discussed the lack of Rangers fans at Celtic Park for the game, as well as the arrival of Fabio Silva from Wolves.

Is Connor Goldson ready to go tomorrow?

“He trained.”

Is he physically fit to play?

“He trained, so we’ll see what we can do with that this afternoon and tomorrow.” He performed exercise.”

Does the fact that he made it through the session give you hope?

“We’ll see tomorrow, and the same goes for the rest of the squad.” There were a few more as well. It’s perfectly natural. We are the team that has played the most games in the last few weeks.

“I did some things in training, not too much, and I will make my decisions tomorrow after watching back the training and after speaking with the doc and the medical staff.”
“I can’t really answer today.” Some have been trained, but it is unclear whether or not they will react. That is why I try not to speak too quickly since it gives the impression that I am playing games.

“I don’t like to play games and say someone is in, and then this afternoon he feels a reaction from training, and we’re not going to take a stupid risk and lose players for the rest of the season.” It is preferable to make this assessment tomorrow, when everything will be evident. The guys are improving, and their strides are becoming longer. We must continue in this manner. That is our next phase in this league marathon of 38 games.”

You’ve used that analogy several times since you arrived…

“That is the story.” OK, it’s a simple story that everyone can follow.”

Would you admit that a good result would give you a second wind in the marathon?

“To be honest, I’m not sure. That has been my experience in such areas. I understand it is roughly three points. It is, of course, a boost at the time, but you must confirm the boost three days later.

“I’ve seen well enough in the past, in my team or other teams, that people get an incredible boost and then don’t perform for days because they were thinking about their boost.” Then you’re out.

“It’s about three points, and it’ll be about three points again on Tuesday.” That is the story we must tell, game by game. I believe that is the way to win things in the long run, rather than living from moment to moment, being up when you win and sad when you lose.

“It will happen along the way but we go every game for the three points with all our energy, with all our enthusiasm and with our quality.”

Was the cancellation of the County game a negative?

“To be honest, yes. I also read a few other stuff. I’ve also seen some amusing images of myself with a snow cannon and other such stuff! I don’t have any! It was amusing.

“No, we were all let down. We were on the bus heading to the hotel, and everyone was focused and eager to play.

“Although I believe the training is quite good and enjoyable, the players always prefer to play games.” Everyone was upset that we were unable to play.”

Is it a positive that it has given anyone a break?

“I don’t believe in positives and negatives in situations over which we have no control.” It had been decided. I understand why; I’ve also seen photographs of the roadways.

“Then you must immediately consider what to do the following day and focus on the next goal.” That’s exactly what we did. It wasn’t a positive or negative thing; it just happened along the road in our race.”

How do you feel about your first Old Firm?

“To be honest, I’m curious because everyone has been talking about it for a long time.” With that atmosphere, many people think it’s a game unlike any other in the world. That piques my interest.”

How do you feel about the fact that there will be no Rangers fans there?

“They will be there in our hearts.” It’s too bad for football. It’s always better to have two sides since it generates a different vibe. It’s unfortunate for football, because choices are made above my head by people who know far more than I do.

“Once again, I try to control what I can control, what we need to do as a team with my staff and the players, and the rest is unimportant.” We’re not concerned with that; we’re concerned with our football and the game.

Do you think it’ll be especially tough because there aren’t any fans?

I sincerely hope not. It is up to us. In the end, it’s always decided on the pitch between those four white lines, and I’m hoping it’s 11 against 11.

“There it is decided, people can yell and shout whatever they want but as long as they’re not running on the pitch, it’s okay for me.”
“Yes, I’m happy about that because he hasn’t played a lot of minutes this season, so we’ll need some time to get him in shape, but his stats were quite good for the minutes he played, so you see it’s somebody who’s been working on himself and his physical abilities, so that’s already a plus.”

“That’s also what we took away from our recent discussions with him about his objectives and our own. I believe it is a clear indication from the organization that players of that caliber and repute want to join Rangers.

“He’s very motivated, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the team.” As a result, it’s critical that he arrives early so that we can plan a program for him over his winter break.

“He has to do some familiar stuff there, and then he’ll join us at the training camp.” Living together for seven days, 24 hours a day, will be quite beneficial to his assimilation to the rest.”

Do you anticipate bringing in another striker during the transfer window?

“That’s an excellent question!” I stated from the start that I would not discuss certain topics. There is a very clear strategy with the board and with everyone in the club about what we want, and I hope that we can accomplish that in January, to execute everything we have planned.

“I am also optimistic that we will win every game.” You work hard, which is why I’m also at ease. I know everyone in the club is working extremely hard and is extremely eager to get the greatest results possible.

“Back in this building, there is a really good dynamic with a lot of young ambitious people who want to make this club better and better.” That’s what we’re going to do in the next five weeks to get the best results for the club, but January is a special month.”

What is the optimal position for Fabio?

“He will say the team, which is a good thing.” For a top player, he can play multiple positions, and we may be able to use him in multiple roles as well.

“With the situation with Danilo out for a couple of months and Kemar (Roofe) who will also be out for the next couple of weeks, for sure, we don’t have many numbers in the striking positions so that will be the main position first.”

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