Philippe Clement says he wants his Rangers stars to dream big – as he doees his Ibrox homework on upcoming rivals and Ally McCoist.
Goals from Danilo and Todd Cantwell were enough to seal a 2-1 win in the Europa League over Sparta Prague. It puts them in a strong position to qualify out of Group C, with a home game against underdogs Aris Limassol coming next and a three-point gap opened on the Czech side, who they have a better head-to-head record over.
Speaking with the TnT Sports panel of Emma Dodds, Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes and Rangers legend Ally McCoist, Clement tipped his hat to the latter and other Ibrox figures he’s been studying as part of his Glasgow transition. Now six games unbeaten, the Belgian is setting no limits on what his men can achieve. He said: “I have seen a lot of things I wanted to see, with and without the ball. The team is growing week by week. I want this team to play this football for 90 minutes but we are not there yet and you see in the second half we drop a little bit with our intensity and tempo with the ball.
“We knew they had a lot of good footballing qualities and they came back in the game because of that. The ideal scenario for me would be we scored earlier the third goal and kill the belief of the opponent.
“In the end I think we need to be very happy. I always believe you can grow and become better. It’s difficult to say that is the highest point they can reach. No, I want players who are brave and believe in themselves.
“Who want to win everything and if we play against Real Madrid like we did before with Brugge, we played also with high pressing, believing in ourselves and getting results out of that. You need to dream and push everyday to become bigger than you ever were.
“I am a football freak. I watch a lot of football. I know some gentlemen a long time from before! I watched all of the games of Rangers before I came and I have been watching a lot of games now. It’s an important part of my job to know each opponent and the circumstances. I know on Sunday it’s totally different on the synthetic pitch. All these details are important.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
