Who Rangers should turn to for Old Firm final after injury blow - opinion
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Philippe Clement isn't a miracle working, however, he has made every attempt to improve the injury situation at Rangers.
Changes have been made at Auchenhowie as well as the introduction of a player trading model that involved signing younger and more robust players.
The best laid plans of mice and men. Unfortunately for Clement, it looks like Rangers could be without Neraysho Kasanwirjo for some time after being injured with Netherlands Under-21 side.
- READ MORE:Neraysho Kasanwirjo makes Rangers teammate 'clashes' claim as Philippe Clement sweats on injury
Philippe Clement needs Old Firm plan B for James Tavernier
Although not quite a regular starter, there was an indication from the manager before this international break that James Tavernier's habit of starting every game was coming to an end.
The 33-year old has started on the bench twice and been substituted four times between the last two breaks, indicating a clear change of approach having previously played every minute of every game.
Ahead of an Old Firm final in the Premier Sports Cup, Clement might no longer have his fastest full-back available and be tempted into starting the captain again.
As with Rabbie Burns, Albert Einstein was also a dab hand at providing words of wisdom and Tavernier vs Daizen Maeda on the 15th of December would be the definition of madness.
The plan might have been to integrate Kasanwirjo, however, Clement has a fine plan B in Dujon Sterling, and there is a reason why.
Why Tavernier can't start against Celtic again?
Speaking after the pre-international break win over Hearts, Clement clearly wasn't happy with one aspect of Tavernier's play for Rangers:
"That it was also in ups and downs. He had a few really good moments.
"He had a really good shot also in the second half. We were unlucky that it got blocked.
"There were also moments that defensively it could have been better for me. We're going to work hard on that with all the team.
"There was not one player today who only had highs. So, it was a performance too much with ups and downs.
"We need to get still more consistency to kill these games off and that's the most important."
If Clement wants to keep his job as Rangers manager, making the same mistake isn't the way to go about it.
