9 bonkers Philippe Clement Rangers claims you can't believe he ever uttered from toenails to science fiction
Philippe Clement was shocked by the Spiders - and got himself tangled in stats as the beleaguered Rangers boss desperately attempted to find some sort of positivity on a dark day at Ibrox.
Fans were gobsmacked that the Belgian used the number of shots “towards goal” against the Scottish Championship side in a bid to defend the calamitous 1-0 loss to Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup fifth round. But it’s not the first time the Light Blues boss has put his foot in it during his post match media conference, with Clement often leaving supporters scratching their heads at some of his comments.
Ex Millwall youth player Sebastian Drozd's shot was the only one that mattered on a dramatic day in Govan as he wrote his name into Scottish Cup folklore. But Clement appeared to take solace in others in the game, saying: “We get today the most shots on target of all season. No, not on target, most shots towards goal. Of all season, we have 12 on target but we didn't score, not even a penalty. I don't think you can ask for more than 30 chances. nothing to do with tactics, it's about the quality of the moments. And then you get this very bad result. So it's very frustrating to go out of the cup in this way.”
READ MORE: The VIP Rangers managers who sinking Philippe Clement can’t help but cling on to
Here, Record Sport looks at some other bizarre takes from Clement that have baffled supporters - starting with another following Sunday’s embarrassing defeat.
A lot to shot about
As he fielded questions on his future during his Premier Sports TV interview after defeat to Queen’s Park on Sunday, Clement was confident that he would live to fight another day. And he pointed to the fact that ending the season trophyless was no different from “several” other Rangers managers in the club’s history. He said: "It happened several times in the past. We know it's a rebuild. I'm focused on this game, on the next game.”
Baffled by science
The Rangers boss was blasted for revealing he opted not to start key man Vaclav Cerny for a tricky festive trip to Motherwell on the advice of his sports science team, bringing the on-loan Czech winger off the bench during which he made an impact but couldn’t help the team to a much-needed three points.
Fans were furious at Cerny’s absence from the XI and Hamza Igamane. He attempted to calm the furore, saying: “People sometimes make conclusions that the sports (science) department makes the decisions about the team. That’s totally not the case. It's not that I follow everything to the letter. I've been pushing players above this limit and I take the risk at that moment. If the players get injured, it's my responsibility in that way.”
Spot of bother
Scottish football is often accused of not marketing itself well enough but Clement claimed “all of EUROPE” was talking about the controversial non-penalty decision for Rangers dominated the fall-out from their Premier Sports Cup final defeat. And he said “nobody in the WORLD” would have argued it shouldn’t have been a penalty when Cerny was brought down on the edge of the box by Liam Scales at Hampden. He said: “There is nobody in the world who has another view on that These things cannot happen, not only for Rangers or any team losing a game like that, but also for Scottish football because it is a really bad advertisement and all of Europe has been talking about what happened in the final.”
Money talks
The Light Blues boss was accused of being defeatist before a massive December double header against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League and Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup final. His comment after a win over Ross County in Dingwall was seized upon by irate punters. He said of those two games: “Maybe we need to say (the two games are) financially out of our league, but we're going to compete.” Ex Ibrox midfielder Andy Halliday said of those comments: "One thing I've learned is, if you give footballers any excuse, believe me they'll take it. You've already planted a little seed of doubt, 'we're coming up against teams on Thursday and Sunday that have got a lot more money than us', so it wasn't a comment that I particularly liked.”
Toe hard to take
Claimed claimed Rangers turned in one of their BETTER performances despite slumping to defeat against Aberdeen at Pittodrie that saw them fall NINE points behind the top two in the Premiership - and bemoaned a TOENAIL costing them a goal at Pittodrie. Cyriel Dessers was flagged offside at a Ross McCausland goal that was chopped off, and it was marginal. Clement said: “Which team wanted it more in the second half? Which team was defending? We were attacking so we wanted it. We were most times in the box in the second half but Aberdeen wanted it also and they took it. We threatened enough but didn’t finish clinical enough. It was hugely disappointing to lose but it was a game we could have had a draw or on a good day, when things fall your way, that we win. We scored a goal and one toe or toe nail was offside. Those moments are not on our side at this moment. We started well and then Aberdeen took over and we struggled really hard.”
Stats life
The Light Blues boss turned to statistics while making his point that a 3-0 Old Firm derby thumping was a closer contest than the scoreline suggested. He said: “At the end, Celtic had 14 shots, we had 13. They had four on target, we had four on target. But you lose 3-0, that's really a clear result - and a difference in efficiency. And of course, you give them a lot of confidence. If you are 1-0 in front and 2-0 in front, it's always easier to play. But ball possession was also equal today, 47-53 (per cent), between the two teams. But I was not happy with the reaction after the 1-0. It was not good enough.”
The Lun that got away
After a drab goalless draw at home to Hearts to kick off the Scottish Premiership this season, Clement bizarrely pointed to the failure to replace John Lundstram as a key reason for their performance.
He said: “You miss a really important part with Lundstram there to lead the team out of the midfield.” Ex Light Blues forward Gordon Dalziel blasted him for that, saying: “It's a ridiculous statement to come out with, it really is. Sometimes I wonder about the Rangers manager.”
A Dee-saster
The wheels came off during the title run-in last season with a shock defeat away to Ross County followed by a drab goalless draw at Dens Park in quick succession. After the Dingwall disaster, Clement said they DID get a reaction on the trip to Dundee. He said: “Yes, they gave a reaction. We didn’t get the result we wanted. We were the only team to deserve this result this evening in the possession, in the chances also. Yes of course it’s a good reaction. But I know from journalists, for fans, that sometimes they’re only looking at the result. I saw players who gave everything to get the result. It’s not easy against a team who play man making all over the pitch and follow you…even if you go to the toilet.”
Moral low ground
The Belgian was ridiculed for claiming Rangers were “moral winners” after a pulsating six-goal Old Firm derby thriller. Rangers looked down and out in the game but hauled themselves back from the dead to salvage a draw. And he said: “I think we're moral winners of the day.” Record Sport columnist and former Celtic striker Chris Sutton trolled him, saying: "Congratulations to Rangers for winning the Moral Victory Trophy at Ibrox on Sunday.”
