Prior to Rangers’ journey to Tynecastle on Wednesday to play Hearts, manager Philippe Clement has made some remarks.
This is what he had to say.
What kind of task do you anticipate for tomorrow?
A significant one. We defeated them in two games, of course. Since it’s my eleventh game for the team and our third against the same opponent, it’s a little bit special. However, we had to play at a very high level twice in order to defeat them. It’s a strong club with well-rounded offensive players and organization. From everything I’ve read and heard about this game, they are also really driven to defeat us. We are going to face a significant difficulty.
Is there a hint of mind games in the fact that you’re playing them for the third time?
Yes, mind games are exactly that. Every league is the same in that you always attempt to predict the nature of the match and the strategies of your opponents. If you play the same team multiple times, it doesn’t really matter to me because, in the days before videos, it was different because you didn’t see each other all that much. It doesn’t really matter because you now have access to every detail and can view every game.
Which major gains did you make from the weekend?
I believe it was because we controlled the game for ninety minutes. We barely let anything go away—just two long-range attempts, but they were both strong shots and two excellent saves that were unavoidable. We had a lot of excellent movement, speed, and ball tempo in the second half of the game, which led to numerous excellent chances and two excellent goals for us. It’s difficult to get past these barriers that teams set up with a line of five and a line of four in front of them and then locate openings to create very nice opportunities. The team performed admirably in the
How does the team’s injury situation stand?
I hope there isn’t much of a change from the weekend. Since we have the AGM today, training is in the afternoon. I’ll find out more when the players report. It felt alright yesterday, nothing particularly noteworthy, a few bumps and bruises. I’m hoping for nothing major this afternoon.
Is Nico Raskin’s assessment complete?
Yes, it will take a little longer than we had anticipated. Becoming fit will require a little more time. While all of the club’s medical staff is giving it their all and working extremely hard with him, these things do occasionally happen.
Is it a new form of rehab he’ll have to do?
A little amount of adjustment in the things he was doing.
What is the status of Kieran Dowell at the club?
Kieran puts in a lot of training and gives it his all every day. There is fierce competition among the players in that position he is playing. Is he going to be able to stay at the club? As long as they remain members of the club, everyone has a future there, thus the answer is definitely yes.
Could you provide a Nico timeline?
No, let me start by saying that I’m not a doctor and that we must work with him to modify his routines. We need to adjust to the new exercises to see how it goes because we didn’t follow him in the way we had anticipated. You mention that Hearts would be extremely driven; where are you getting this information from? People tell me a lot of stuff, but I don’t read everything. Thus, the information published in the press was evident. With four straight league victories, Hearts are in good form. It’s undoubtedly a strong team, and we know it’s led by a coach who has experience with the Rangers and is thus especially driven.
When the game at Tynecastle gets underway, would you be rooting for your team to win the duels?
To be honest, I pay attention to that every time. Not every time can you score a point. For instance, we scored quickly to start the game in our match at Dundee. It is the responsibility of other teams to stop us, and if we break that by scoring early, they must come out and make room later. It’s always a focal point from my perspective.
