• Assessment of straightforward win over St Johnstone
  • No complaints over Hagi red card on return to action
  • Update on Cortes, Ridvan, Danilo and Matondo injuries

Philippe Clement has spoken to the media after the win over St Johnstone. Here is everything he had to say.

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What are your thoughts on the performance?

It was a deserved victory. I'm happy with a clean sheet, it's important that we continue on that road domestically. Of course I want that in Europe also, like in Malmo, so we're going to work hard on that. It was not a top performance today. I think we started bright, with good tempo, but we didn't create enough chances in the final third, we were not decisive enough. Like the moment with Vaclav - that's a decisive moment, with the right composure, and we missed that in the first half. Second half I wanted to give minutes to Ianis also, after his comeback, and to get to know the rest of the team. But in general, with the whole team, our tempo went down. We had some more good opportunities to score, and the goalkeeper saved a few good goals. But we have played better games than that this season. It’s also about giving players minutes, it was Nico's first time 90 minutes in a long time, I wanted to give minutes to Ianis, Hamza - they need to get to know each other, and that takes some time. 

Vaclav with the goals in either half…

 I'm really happy for him, because from the first moment he came into this club, he's been working really hard for the team. He was really down after Thursday, by missing that chance, and he felt really responsible in that way, because he knew it was a really important moment in the beginning of the game. If you score there, you have a totally different momentum in the game, and it can be a different game then. He talked about that with me, and it was a really open and good talk. But he didn't lose any of my confidence. He showed what I wanted to see, after the disappointment, to react and to keep composure and not start to doubt. So I'm really happy for him with two quality goals, but also on the ball, and without the ball doing the right stuff for the team He's going to get more and more important minutes and moments the next couple of months, because he's just in the building and starting to get to know the rest of the team and the way to run, the way to pass, when to do it, to create these automatisms. So I'm really pleased with him, not only as a football player, but also as a person. 

What did you think about the red card to Ianis?

I had the feeling that there was not much intensity, and I had a really big doubt about the red card, but if I see the images, it's a clear red card. There's no intensity in the tackle, it's more clumsy, a clumsy challenge from a player who's tired at that moment. It's really like an attacking player making a foul. Ianis didn't have any intentions to tackle in that way. It was unlucky, but it's a clear red card, so I’ve nothing to say about that.

Are you more disappointed for him than disappointed in him?

I cannot be disappointed in him, because he's just in the building, in that way, training with us. One of my main principles is that I don't want that kind of challenge. I don't want that people raise their feet, I don't want that they block these challenges or use their body in that way, instead of using your studs, because then you risk these moments.  That's clear for everybody in the squad, but Ianis, we didn't speak yet about those things, so it's a harsh lesson in that way. But I don't think it will be a really big, big suspension, because you see it's not with big intensity, and it's more of an unlucky one, but it's a clear one.

Was it frustrating after his assist for the second goal?

Yes, but you see also that he lacks rhythm, and that's normal in this moment, so I hope he can get minutes with the national team, that he can come back with good health, and that we can work really well with him in the next few weeks and months to get him to his best level.

Will you use James Tavernier further forward more often?

I don't know, it's also the circumstances of the game, but of course everybody knows that Tav has really big qualities in the final third, with assists and with goals, so it's something we can do in moments, we will see. But it's also that moment. I still only had two more changes to make, and so I made that decision. It's not something that you will see every week, I think, but we will see. Sometimes you get surprises out of those kind of choices, we will see.

Were the changes at half-time tactical?

Dio already had a really hard game on Thursday, he gave a lot, so his energy was going down in that way. And Ross worked also hard, but I missed some decisiveness in the final third, so we wanted to do it with Nedim to get that more.

What changes have you made to Nicolas Raskin’s role?

I think today's role was quite similar to last year, but he played also a little bit higher up the pitch, and he needs to get adapted to that role also.

Will Danilo, Ridvan, Matondo and Cortes be back after the break?

I expect in training to have Danilo and Ridvan maybe, and the two others not yet, it's too early for them.

Will Cortes be long-term?

Yeah, that's going to be longer term.