• Turning his attentions to trip to face Kilmarnock
  • Influence of Diomande, Cortes and Silva
  • Growing relationship with Ibrox crowd

Philippe Clement has spoken to the media after the victory over Hearts. Here is what the Rangers boss had to say.

Is that everything you wanted from your team today?

Not everything. But it has been one of the best until now, I think. If I want everything, I want to have less shots against on target in the second half. Also we make a lot of changes and the other team has nothing to lose. Then you can get into this situations. Maybe Jack was happy that he could show his quality in this game. I am really pleased but I see what I see in the training. It is not that these things are falling out of the sky. The team is growing, we have been talking about that a lot in the last weeks and months. They played a really good game and they took the moments also. That is important in football. The first goal from Dio is really important in a game like that to open up the game and then we continue and it is good that there is a hunger and desire to never stop, to always want more. That is the mentality I want to see and what we have been talking about the last couple of months.

You seem calm after your team has just won 5-0…

Yes because I am looking forward, I am not looking backwards. There is nothing won. We won three points today and we have on Wednesday a difficult day again. I am already thinking about Wednesday. That is my character and it is what it is. It is also the best way and I want to see that from my players also. They can enjoy it, they can be happy today. They even have a day off tomorrow, that doesn’t happen that much. That was to be decided about results in the last couple of weeks so they deserve that. I expect Monday that they come in really fresh with a lot of mentality and hunger for more. It is all about that. To be ambitious, to be hungry for more, to be better. Like Cyriel said, they are not at the maximum of their capacities, not as an individual, not as a team. We are going to work hard on that in the next couple of months.

What did you make of the atmosphere?

Four months ago, the first thing I said when I stepped into this building was that the major thing to come to this club was to get the synergy back because I have seen how powerful it is. I know how powerful it can be, those things. I missed that at my previous club. I made also this decision to come here to build that again. It is there now and it is amazing. When you come to the stadium hours before, it is amazing how many people are here already. Even if you walk around the city or even when you drive your car, it is crazy how many people stop now and are waving. I am somebody who gets joy out of the pleasure of other people, like my team, my staff and the fans. For the moment, they give me a lot of energy and they give the team a lot of energy. Because of that, they are growing fast. It is a work together.

You must be pleased with how Mohamed has taken to Rangers?

It’s not just the goals, it’s also the way he’s playing. The way he’s defending, the way he’s working for the team and making choices with the ball. It’s not easy coming into a team in January when a part of the story is already written and you’re starting from zero. We scouted him a lot and we’ve known about him for several years. We knew it was a player who would suit how we want to play football. Our football suits him also so that has made it easier for him coming into the squad. He can use his qualities and it’s the same with Oscar and Fabio. You can see they’re enjoying it and they’re growing as young players. It’s a huge thing. We got three young players in the winter market and they have so much potential to grow.

Is there a message from you for players to shoot from outside the box?

It’s been a constant message from me from the first day I stepped into the building. It’s been one of the major points to work on - to have a clear idea of how to shoot, where to shoot and when to shoot. We’ve been working on it a lot over the last couple of months with the team so it’s in their minds now how to do it. You get more goals and efficiency but that’s normal because it’s about repetition. It’s about working on those things, getting it in their heads so it becomes natural and not something you need to think about. If you think too much, it’s too slow and you do the wrong things or your opponent blocks you.

If you keep producing performances like that, is it going to be difficult for any team in this league to stop you?

You’ll never hear me say that because I know how dangerous the balance is. I know how much hard work is put into it, both physically and mentally, to be switched on like that all the time. That’s why I’ve rotated a lot because for a player to do that 60 times a season, it’s difficult. We’re happy to have three points and the players feel that if they do things better and better, they become stronger and stronger. That keeps them ambitious and humble. Because on Wednesday, it starts from zero again. We need to break the wall (at Kilmarnock) and do the right things on a different surface. We have to adapt because it’s a new game. If it was 1-0 or 5-0 today, it doesn’t change our preparation for Wednesday.

Five goals today... Is it Five Guys for dinner tonight?

People have told me some things and if I read that a player is there one hour after the final whistle - you know better because the player was with us in the stadium. All of these silly stories, I don’t pay any attention to them.