• Clement confirms Oscar Cortes suffered a muscle injury at Rugby Park, a final diagnosis has not been made
  • The Belgian praises 'fighter' Ridvan Yilmaz for integrating into the squad and ignoring transfer rumours 
  • Clement wants greater transparency and more time with referees and managers to produce understanding on both sides
  • The Rangers manager also calls for clarity over the handball rule

Here's everything the manager had to say ahead of his side's meeting with Motherwell.

How's the squad looking?

Oscar will be out, I don't know how long. We're looking into that with the doctor and specialist so I cannot say anything about that for the moment. Kemar is back in the squad because it's a normal pitch tomorrow and Ryan Jack also trained in the last couple of days so he's in contention for the squad.

Is Tom Lawrence okay?

Tom Lawrence is okay, yeah. We still need to see with playing minutes, how we divide this with the players coming out of injury. A few players play every three days but he is available to play some minutes.

Are you hoping Kemar will be a big contributor?

It's the same for all the players, not only for Kemar. I want everybody in their best form. We're working with the medical staff and performance staff really hard on that. We have a lot of discussions about playing minutes every game. I laughed with him last week that they're almost choosing the squad that starts the game instead of me so I don't have much to do anymore.

Do you challenge your players to persuade them to keep them in the team?

No, I'm joking. Let's be clear about that. It's a lot of discussions, looking at numbers, looking at the history of the player and then making decisions around that, altogether and to stick together around that and to explain to the players  why because a lot of them are eager to get more minutes when they feel good. But maybe you need to protect them against themselves. We are working really hard, all the club together to come to a normal situation because, until now, it's been quite a puzzle.

Will you be keen to repeat your performance against Hearts when you face Motherwell?

Different opponent, different game, different circumstances. Even if we played against the same team it will never be the same game, that's always the case. Motherwell is a bit of a strange story. I'm always interested in data because it controls your feelings or backs up the feelings that you have or not. You see where they are in the league. We had a special game there so you cannot take many conclusions about that because of the weather and the wind. The team did really well in the circumstances there. The game at Ibrox at the beginning of the season was a very difficult game. I was surprised with the data because it was something I didn't know but it's the team who are third in the rankings that has scored the most goals in the league so that was something new for me. It shows that we need to not only play a game where we need to be offensively really good to break open the wall but we need to defend as a team really well. It's going to be crucial not to be naive.

Is it about the players taking that decision away from you with performances?

I wish I could do that but for the moment, it's game by game and looking how players recover, how they come back and then making the right decisions altogether. In that way, yes and no. I always think about the game before and the game after. You think about it but not as much as I would like to.

How much confidence does it give you that your team is continuing to find solutions against different teams?

I have confidence in all the squad and also in the young guys who come to train with us who are doing good things. What I said last week was our strength now is that every training session is really competitive. It's very competitive with the starting 11 and the other 11 who try to play as the opponent. It's really pleasing to see that in these four months together, every member of the squad has raised their level not only physically but in every sense. Technically and, for sure, tactically so they know what to do. In that way, it's been a really important job to  work with everybody and not to be focused on 11, 14 or 15 players but on everybody and we will continue like that.

Have the club had talks with the SFA over VAR?

No I didn't, it has been really busy. We're only 48 hours after that game and it goes really fast. I hope for the future there can be more clarity about things because I know there are decisions made in a grey zone. I don't think with the handball rule it has become easier for the referees or VAR. It has become more difficult, the way it's decided by UEFA or FIFA. That's why it's important there's more clarity because my job is to explain to my players what they can do or not do on a pitch and what is handball. If they feel there is injustice then we have a problem, I don't say that is the case but it needs to be really clear and afterwards also what is handball or not. I don't think it's good for the game if all the players start running around the 30 metres with their hands on their back as you see already, even then sometimes it's handball. You cannot turn or defend like this. It's not good for the game that they run around like penguins. If we can get in the future more contact together outside the stress and tensions with referees to discuss things, I think it will be beneficial for both guys.

Do we need that clarity sooner rather than later?

I think it helps everyone, all the managers. Everybody wants that and the referees too. I was really happy in the game that I could speak to the fourth official about things I had questions about and he was really clear, that was really top. That takes the tension out of the managers, not only for me. To have a good optn relationship together doesn't mean you have to agree all the time. It means there is transparency and that you can communicate in an open way.

Can you tell us Oscar's issue?

It's a muscle injury but I cannot say much more for the moment.

How disappointing is that?

Yeah but I don't want to go into that to speak about half-empty glass, I am focused on players available for this game because otherwise, I would have lost a lot of energy in the last couple of months. That's useless. It's a pity for him and the team but an opportunity for another player to show it and do it. It works like that.

How impressed have you been with Ridvan?

He has made a really big evolution in the last couple of months. He's grown in every sense, well maybe not in every sense. First there were a lot of rumours in January around him and I didn't see one second a difference in his behaviour, training mentality, or togetherness with the team, not one second. That's already a strong thing as I've seen things already in the past, not here but with other clubs. Secondly, he has grown on the pitch and his level is higher. Physically, technically, and tactically, his resistance in the duels and his passion. He is really popular in the dressing room, the boys really like him. He made a really good integration into the squad during the last couple of months. I don't think that was the case six months ago all of those things. So credit to him, he is a fighter and we need fighters, I don't mind how big they are in centimetres.