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Philippe Clement rues lack of Rangers 'magic' as infamous Harry Potter quip still has meaning

Philippe Clement
-Credit: (Image: SNS Group)


Rangers manager Philippe Clement had to concede that his side lacks the "magic" necessary to change their fortunes following a disastrous 1-0 defeat against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

The Light Blues' aspirations of narrowing the lead held by Celtic and Aberdeen seemed to vanish as Marley Watkins sealed a win for Killie with a late strike. In what amounts to their lowest number of shots on target this season, Rangers' performance manifested just three attempts on goal in a match that hardly inspired confidence among supporters that Clement is close to steering Rangers back into a serious pursuit of the title.

To make matters worse, the Gers have now lost on seventh loss of their last 13 visits to Rugby Park. A concerning aspect for many will be that despite enjoying more possession, Rangers well and truly looked second best to Derek McInnes' Killie side. Reflecting on his tenure since warning a year ago that he wasn't a miracle worker akin to Harry Potter, Clement recognises the difficulty his side faces in creating those crucial play-making instances.

"You need in these games that kind of magic to open up the defence", he said. "They work really hard, we know that and all respect to Kilmarnock for that. That's why it's a difficult place to play.

"Also on the surface, you need to be even more precise than on a grass pitch. All these things, you know before you come here so you need to take these decisive moments. What we didn't take also were the chances we had, so it's all on us that we were not good enough to win this game.

"It's a frustration of today because I don't think this is the phase that the team has shown in the last couple of weeks. It's a different type of game also, but we have to adapt better."