• Rangers should have scored six or seven in dominant performance
  • How Jefte forced his move to Ibrox and is catching the eye
  • Tavernier appreciation and home crowd factor

Philippe Clement has spoken to the media after the win over Dundee at Ibrox. Here is everything he had to say.

How pleased are you with that performance today?

Of course pleased because you go through in the cup and it's important against a difficult team to break. Because Dundee is good in that, in making a very good organisation and dangerous on the counter-attack with Murray. So we had this experience already with Ross County last season. So I'm pleased about the goals but also about the clean sheet. That's very important. And I'm pleased also with so many new faces. The first time at Ibrox that they feel the energy, that they feel the fans. That the fans can see also the new players coming in and performing already well. But it's just the start of a story. So I see also a lot of things we still can improve. So I'm hungry about that.

How good was it just to be back here and as you say especially for the new players to experience that?

You cannot describe that. I said it this week, it felt like 10 years. That feeling I had. We've been playing like two, three months only away games. So that's really difficult as a team. So we were super happy to be back. And I'm happy also that the players could give this performance also. Because we wanted to give the fans something special. But of course we should have scored maybe six or seven today. And to be more clinical in that way. We need to keep on working on that.

Jefte is impressing people a lot. Is he the profile of player you want to bring in?

Yeah of course and we wanted him already in January. And he wanted to come also. But at that moment it was stopped by his team. But we stayed in touch all these months. And he showed also a real desire to come. And to fight for that. Yeah of course I said it so many times already. It was the end of a cycle. We had a lot of players in the squad who were over their best period. We had seven players going out of the building for free. Or could go out for free. There were some we wanted to keep but they could earn much more money somewhere else. So they made that choice. So it was a hard way to start a rebuild. And it just started that way. We could not do everything in one window. But it's good now that people start to see the young talented players who came in. That they have the quality now or for the future for sure to become important players. And I understand that in the beginning there were scepticism about that. Because players coming in who never played at this level. So fans want to see that. But if I learned one thing about this club it is that the fans know really well what quality is. And they desire quality. So we've been looking for that in the pool with the money we had, what was not much compared to other teams, to find real quality for short term but for sure for the longer term.

What will a result in a performance like that today do for confidence and belief going forward?

No it was important like I said to come back in a good way. But we were hungry for that. For me the most positive thing is we're working hard with the group every day. On a lot of things. In movement, in how to pass, where to pass, all the timings. To take out the transitions, to be good in the set pieces. Almost every day with videos with the players. And you see everybody's taking it. Everybody's hungry to do it. And there's a lot of potential in the building. It's now about pushing them. Develop them and making them better. And create also experience together. The longer you play together the better you get. The best teams I played in we were always two, three, four years together as players. This is only the start of this team together. It's a positive way to get the result of today with the quality they showed. It's just the start. There's still a lot of things to improve.


You just left Hampden but you must be pleased to be going back for the semi-finals?

Yeah, but can we not play one time at Ibrox? This semi-final? We've been enough in Hampden.

You took off James Tavernier. Was his performance pleasing for you?

No, it's normal I think. It's normal. He played a good game. And he deserves that. And maybe after the Celtic game we have a few individuals who are crossing a certain line. What's not good. And I understand the frustration. But there are a lot of people who understand the value that Tav had and has for this squad. And that's also good for him to feel that. But that's the life of being a captain in a big club. You're the symbol in the good days and then it's nice. Like today. And in the difficult days you're also the one everybody looks at. But that's life of being a captain or a manager in that kind of club. You need to embrace that also. And he did. Last couple of weeks he worked hard. He wanted to dig in, to come back strong. And he helped all the young lads in their integration also because he has an important job in that also.

Could the fact that you've had four games at Hamden already this season, could that work in your favour when you go back there for the semi-finals?

No, I don't think so. I don't think it's a difference. Last year we didn't play those games and we played our games there and we did our work there. It's more like an away game for the two teams. It's more like that.