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Philippe Clement dismisses Rangers derby record as he warns stars to keep Celtic out of their heads
Philippe Clement has warned his Rangers players not to get sucked in by Celtic’s Hampden mind games.
The Ibrox side go up against their bitter rivals in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final for this first trophy of the season. But the Gers gaffer - who is still sweating on the fitness of defensive stalwart John Souttar - is concerned his team’s focus might slip if they fail to deal with the Parkhead outfit’s attempts to utilise the dark arts.
Clement was left furious after May’s Scottish Cup final loss to Brendan Rodgers team when Todd Cantwell found himself dragged into a sledging contest with Hoops defender Greg Taylor. The riled-up playmaker - who has since moved on to Blackburn - was hauled off with quarter of an hour left but then had to be physically dragged away by his boss after the final whistle as he let rip at referee Nick Walsh.
Now Clement is hoping his team can keep their tempers and nerves in check as they look to build on Thursday’s promising Europa League point at home to Tottenham. Asked if it was key his side handled the emotion of the showpiece clash, he said: “It's also one part of it, yes. Because for sure there will be mind games during the match.
“So they need to handle that well. So those are also things you need to prepare as a staff that the players know it from before. That's also one part of it.
“It's really interesting all these different parts to prepare that and to meld everything together in a really good game. Like the players did against Tottenham now. So now it's the next game against Celtic.”
Clement was proud of the way his side handled the challenge present by Ange Postecoglou’s Premier League outfit. But he’s not got much to shout about when it comes to his derby record against Celtic.
Before his arrival in Glasgow, no Celtic or Rangers boss in the modern era had ever made it to a fifth Old Firm clash without having picked up at least one victory. But Clement is now preparing for his sixth head-to-head with Gers’ city neighbours having managed just one draw and four defeats.
Asked if he felt under pressure himself to break that derby duck, he said: “No, zero. It's not about me. It's about the club. It's about the players. Nothing.
“It's not about me. It's never been about me in this job, in whatever club. So about that, zero.
“How do I feel about winning trophies” 200 per cent. About winning games? 200 per cent. That's what I want against every opponent, to do everything to win games and to do that together with the squad.”
When it was pointed out that for Rangers to be successful this weekend, he’d need to finally get that Old Firm win that has been eluding him, he replied: “OK, that's what you guys said, yes.
“But I'm not busy with that. For me, to be a successful manager it means the club is successful and the squad is successful.
“So you need to win this game. But it's not about me. It's not my personal goal or anything. I don't win the game. I'm not on the pitch. I can guide them to what to do on the pitch. So that's my job.”
Clement knows he’ll need his side to hit the same heights they managed on Thursday, when only former Celtic keeper Fraser Forster’s late heroics denied them a famous win. But Gers may have to do without centre-back Souttar after the Scotland ace limped off against Spurs.
Asked for an update on the 28-year-old, the Ibrox gaffer said: “For the moment, I cannot say definite things towards the weekend or the state of injuries. I cannot say anything for the moment because we didn't have a full assessment yet.
But I know that John will do everything to play that game. He's very motivated always for that and for the club and about winning trophies. So I know he will give his best but it needs to be something that is possible.”
Clement has watched his side suddenly find their form with 15 goals in their last five games - and he admits they’ll have to keep that lethal streak up if they’re to stand any chance of defending the trophy they won last year.
“The key on Sunday is to score, to be efficient, to defend really well. Celtic is a team who is really good on the ball with a lot of quality players.
“We know, they showed in the league, they showed in Europe. So we need to play a very mature game, well organised. But we need to play our football also and create our chances like we do in the last couple of weeks.
"Somebody told me yesterday that the amount of goals we scored now in the Europa League is the joint highest in the group stage until now with Rangers.
“So those are good things. We scored also a lot of goals, we need to continue doing that. You need to be efficient and grab your moments in those top games.
“That's crucial. In the top games you don't get 20 good chances. You need to grab your moments.”
