Soccer Clement on players coming from a 'low point', Livingston, and McCausland contract
Jane Lewis, BBC Sport Scotland
The Rangers manager Philippe Clement has been speaking to the media ahead of his side’s trip to Livingston in the Premiership on Sunday.
Here are the key points from his press conference:
He’s happy with the progress his team are making since his arrival as manager, and admits the progress is the “fastest a team has reacted” in his managerial experience. He says that’s "because of [the players'] concentration and maybe because they come from a low and deep point.”
He believes his players are very willing to take advice on board. “As a player if you’re not open to it, you’re not ready for it, if you’re not ambitious you don’t take the lessons and you don’t become better, so it’s about the players themselves.”
While his ambition is to build a long winning streak he knows there’s a chance that won’t happen, and how his players react to that is just as important to him. “There will be a day that we fail - that’s part of football and I want the players to be ready for that moment. The real winners are the ones who react to that moment.”
He’s “not a fan” of Livingston's artificial playing surface because he thinks it is "a different kind of football". Compared it to tennis, where different players thrive on different surfaces.
He knows Livingston is a difficult place to go, and says they need to be tough to get all three points.
Hoping to have the like of Roofe, Matondo, Souttar, Raskin and Wright back after the international break.
On Ross McCausland, the manager says the club are in talks with him over a new deal, and he wants him to stay. “It’s clear that I’m giving him good chances and he’s knows that I believe in him for the future and I believe the right place for him is here.”
