The primary cause of Rangers’ dismal performances, according to Philippe Clement, has been identified before of the Scottish Premiership matchup with St Mirren.
With two 1-1 draws against Aris Limassol in the Europa League and last weekend’s matchup against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, the Gers looked to be faltering
Clement has stated that the team’s current injury crisis is to blame for not claiming all three points in search of the Europa League knockout stage.
“We didn’t reward ourselves after dominating but I know what our situation is,” he said to Football Scotland, as shared on Sunday (3 November). “We’re missing injured players
“In the midfield, we’re missing two important players (Ryan Jack and Nico Raskin) and also upfront.
“Some players are coming back from injury like Matondo who isn’t at his best level yet because of that. So we need to work hard to get everyone to their best level.
There is no denying that Jack and Raskin are important players in the Rangers squad, as well as the off-the-bench impact of Matondo. But to blame their absences for failure to beat Aris Limassol is a bit embarrassing.
Raskin’s involvement in the return fixture in October was not enough to help the Gers overcome their opponents either, suffering a 2-1 defeat in Cyprus.
The issue extends far beyond injury concerns, as evidenced by Todd Cantwell’s 36-minute suspension for refusing to comply with Clement’s plea to remain wide and the ineffectiveness of reliable players like Sam Lammers.
In the last group stage match against Real Betis, Clement and his team will be looking to win all three points in order to avoid depending on other outcomes to go their way. Expulsion from the Champions League and Europa League is not a good look, even though they still have the Europa Conference League as a backup plan.
With Celtic leading the Scottish Premiership by a wide margin, a run in Europe may hide some of the present rifts and improve the vibe at Ibrox.