Philippe Clement declares league ISN'T over as Rangers boss warns Celtic 'anything can happen'
Rangers boss Philippe Clement says he WON’T prioritise the Scottish Cup - because he hasn’t given up on winning the title.
The Ibrox club is 13 points behind Old Firm rivals Celtic at the top of the Premiership with just 13 games to play. Clement’s side can book a Scottish Cup quarter-final spot today by beating Queen’s Park. And they’ve got a mouth-watering Europa League last-16 tie to look forward to in March. But despite trailing Celtic by double figures in the league, Clement is refusing to accept it’s over.
When asked if there was more emphasis on Rangers winning the Scottish Cup, due to the gap at the top, the Belgian said: “No, for me the league still has the same importance. It’s about trying to win every game and then seeing where you’re going to finish with that at the end of the season. Everything can still happen and I’m going for that.”
Rangers’ remarkable top-eight finish in the Europa League group phase secured a direct passage to last-16. That has given Clement's players two free midweeks while the play-offs are contested but he’s warned them they won’t be getting a break.
He said: “It’s difficult because we were in our stride. The team was getting used to playing every three days so their bodies now need to adapt.
“I’ve experienced it in the past, where the first year was difficult but the second became easier as you get into that stride. So now we have to do different things. I can tell you, it was a really tough training session on Thursday which is normally our match day.
“The players need to put that effort in on the training pitch. They need to get used to that. It doesn’t mean that these weeks become relaxing. That’s not good for their bodies. We still have to develop the players and make them better.
“We’re not in a part of the season where we can lower their loads to get freshness. They still need to become stronger so we’re working on that and we’ll continue to do that in the weeks where we only have one game.”
With the transfer window closed, Clement knows the squad he’s working with as they attempt to close the gap on Celtic in the Premiership and go for Scottish Cup and Europa League success. But he’s admitted he didn’t get what he wanted in January to strengthen the squad. And without nailing a position, Clement suggested that - with Oscar Cortes injured and Rabbi Matondo on loan at Hannover - he would have liked to add more width to his team.
He said: “It’s not about what I didn't get. It's what everybody wanted but, in the end, there was not a deal made. The club was busy with a lot of good players and profiles. But we couldn't get them over the line. It was in our offensive part of the pitch.
“I don't want to go into more in detail - but I think you guys are smart enough to know.”
