Philippe Clement admits tactical mistake with what Rangers did against Dundee
Yesterday at 12:30 PM
Philippe Clement has endured a rollercoaster tenure since joining Rangers to takeover from Michael Beale, however, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
It might be distant, but the manager has found a combination of players from his squad that works – not only does it get results, it plays attacking football too.
There are signs of improvement even though Rangers didn’t beat either Tottenham Hotspur or Celtic, with Clement silencing one particular criticism that has been aimed at him.
Philippe Clement loses stubborn streak to find Rangers consistency
The best example of the change that the Gers boss has made is in the forward line.
For spells at the end of last season and into 2024/25, the Belgian had no choice but to pick Tom Lawrence and Cyriel Dessers.
There were calls for the 4-2-3-1 formation to be changed so that he didn’t, however, Clement, with retrospect, was looking at the bigger picture.
He knew that he wasn’t always going to have to make do, and the return to fitness of Danilo, Ianis Hagi being available for selection again, added to the signings of Nedim Bajrami and Hamza Igamane, has seen a marked improvement in attacking play.
What has Clement done to turn the corner?
A subtle change in system has also been seen which many accused Clement of being too stubborn to implement.
He said that he wanted his team to play attacking football when he took over at Ibrox but the players that he inherited and had at his disposal couldn’t deliver consistently.
Playing with two strikers and having Hagi, Danilo and Igamane rotating has paid off with the three forwards playing more one-touch football than was seen before looking to get in behind teams.
A quick look at the starting XI from the last three league games, the Europa League and Premier Sports cup final says it all.
This is a new team.
Not the one that kicked-off on matchday one against Hearts, but the one that is now scoring goals, entertaining and proving that patience is sometimes a worthwhile commodity in football after all.
