Clement on Rangers 4-1 Nice, Igamane exam and sympathy for fans

You spoke yesterday of the type of performance you wanted from your team. How close was that to exactly what you're looking for?  

Close. If we would have scored more goals than it was really close to perfection, we still had really good chances that we didn't finish in the right way. But I saw a really impressive performance. What I wanted as a team, you saw really a team on the pitch being compact all the time, using the spaces in the right way, using the ball in the right way, scoring good goals. If you see also how many new players who are on the pitch who are only two months, three months, maximum four months at the club. So, it's really early that way and we start to see everything gelling together better and better. So, that's what we want. That's what we're working on really hard with all staff, with the players also.  And it's about confirmation the next weeks and the next months in that way.

You spoke a lot last season when you first came in about the synergy between the team and the fans. Do you feel that that is a type of performance and result that can really revive what you had going at that point?  

I hope that and I know it's been a really difficult season in that way. Starting at Hampden, it created a lot of negativity from fans and a little bit toxic environment in that way because everybody was disappointed. You have a lot of new players, nobody knows their value. They say, 'why do we buy a young boy out of Morocco who doesn't have any experience', for example? So, today and also in some games before already with other players, people start to see the potential and why these decisions are made with the financial situation of the club in the summer. To do that and it's about hard work with them. We have a lot of players who are high potential, who need to work hard, who need to learn still a lot because they're young. They don't have the experience at the level of Rangers. But this night can show a lot of people that there is a lot of potential in this squad and that we're working really hard to gel everything together.

Are you ahead of schedule in terms of where you thought you might be after five Europa League games and can you begin perhaps to think about maybe even qualifying automatically for the next phase?  

I'm not somebody who starts to calculate before a group stage and this system is already quite special. So we didn't do that in advance. I want to create a mentality, a culture in the dressing room, in the club about every game going full for the three points. If the opponent is Dumbarton or Manchester United, there should not be a difference in the way we approach games in our attitude. So in that way, I want in the next games to come also that we fight, that we do everything to get the points against every opponent. And we're busy with all the new guys to create this culture in the dressing room that they understand what Rangers is about. And that's one of my big tasks, to learn these young players, this new group, that it is the amount of every three days being there. In that way, the synergy with the fans was amazing today. Again, like we did in a lot of European games, I hope we can get that also back domestically, but it starts with the performance. So if the fans go behind the team and they believe in it and they see the positive things today, it will create also the belief in positivity before games and during games, also in the difficult moments.’ 

Philippe, just in terms of Hamza, I saw you speaking to him on the pitch before the game. What were you saying to him and then what did you make of his overall performance today? 

I was speaking with him that this was not an exam for him, that he's making the good steps. He gets the chance also because he's proving the right things in the training with his work attitude, with the things he does with the ball.  But it was crucial today to win the duels as a high support. It was crucial in this game against Nice to do that because they're really strong in this pressing one-on-one. If you don't have this high support to win duels, you don't come in the game because you're all the time pressured. You cannot keep the ball. So it was a massive important role that he had today and he did it brilliantly.  But brilliantly in the way that he's been training also on that the last couple of weeks, months. So it's good that fans, that you guys also start to see the potential that is in this group and I understand that there were a lot of questions about some decisions. In the summer we had a lot of talks about that. We had to cut the wages so much. So we had to fish in a pool also that is maybe less clear for fans and for journalists. But I think Hamza showed already the potential he has for the future and that he can become an important Rangers player. But I want to see this hunger and desire to become better and then I will give chances to young players. I don't mind their age. It's about what they perform in training and in the game.’

Nice had a lot of injuries?

Yes, it's true. He's had several injured players today but still it's a very good squad. And out of my experience, if we have a lot of injured players, nobody takes that into account. So in that way. We had also several players who are not here today with injuries. Rabbe Matondo, Oscar Cortes, Danilo, Haji. Not on the list. So it was not our full squad in that way. But I'm really happy with the result because I know the quality of Nice. I know how difficult it is to beat the system of Franck also who plays really aggressive football, doesn't give spaces. But the team did it in a really right way, like we trained and they stick to the plan. 90 minutes long, the players who started, the players who came in and they get the reward for that.

The pressure is now on to beat St Johnstone?

I’m not alone in that. There are 50,000 people which will help in that way. All our fans.  They know they need to win these games domestically also. And it's a culture we need to create with players who are maybe not used to doing that every three days. I'm pushing on that already for weeks, for months. I see a good evolution in that way. We didn't get our reward in the weekend, in the second half where the team was playing really good and creating these chances. Now it's against St Johnstone, so finishing off also those things and to play 90 minutes like that. And that's the challenge now for the next couple of weeks and months to create this winning culture. What I want to see, what we created last season with an older squad who was used to doing this. Now with this younger squad, I will be the one pushing on to that. But I know I have also a lot of people, the fans behind me to push in that way.’ 

Did this feel like revenge after Monaco?

No, I'm not busy with revenge or anything. I had a really good time here in Monaco until the last six weeks and the six games. And then decisions are made in really short term. There are really good coaches in the world losing five, six games in a row and they keep their job. In Monaco there was another decision made. I don't have control of that.  I'm only busy with Rangers and with a totally new story with a lot of young players with a new squad building that. And I'm happy that they could show a part of their potential because there's still a lot of potential to be taken out of this. It's for sure not the end of the road for a lot of players and I'm looking forward to that.  I was a fan of Monaco last evening and I'm really happy to see also these young players like Elias Benseguir and Magnus Aklejus performing really well. Two years ago, one year ago, one year and a half ago, giving their debuts like it was with Igamane now. So I'm not somebody who lives with regrets in that way.