Clement says he may not play strongest Rangers team vs Spurs

Firstly, can you just give us your team news for tomorrow?

Nana is of course out, you all know. And Tom Lawrence will also be out for the game. And Rabbi Matondo is training with the team, but not fit enough yet to be in a squad. Oscar Cortes is coming closer, but that's for a few minutes then. Not for too long, but he is available for a squad.

Tell us about the scale of the challenge you face in this tournament?

Yeah, it's a big challenge, but that's what we like, that's what we love, that's what we want here also. We had already in this past year a few really good opponents here in European nights. This club has a big history in that. So for the players, these are very challenging and really nice evenings that they can write history in that way. So that's why players want to play for Rangers also, or it's one of the reasons for that.

Tottenham are in a little bit of a difficult spell at the moment. Is that something you can maybe exploit and take advantage of?

Yeah, it's how you see things. I think a few weeks ago I saw them play against Man City. They were not in such a bad place at that moment. So it's Premier League, it's the highest level in the world in that way. And things are really close together, so you can lose points there. I think it's still a really good team.”

Talk to us about their style and Ange Posteguoglu's style. They're a team that loves to attack and scores a lot of goals, but maybe some opportunities that they might let you have defensively. Would you agree?

We need to show that on the pitch. Of course we talk about things with the players, we show them things. And we try against every opponent to find where you can find weaknesses or less good points, and how to stop them. So that's our job, together with the analysts, and we do that with every opponent. Every team has that in the world and it's about looking for that, but then to put it in practice on the pitch. And that's a challenging thing.

How do you see your team at the moment, Philippe? Do you feel like you're building nicely at the moment?

Yeah, it's the evolution that we wanted. Maybe we wanted it faster. But I think we're in a good place. If you see everything we had to do from the start of the season until now, with all the circumstances, that the last couple of weeks, it's very clear for everybody to see that the team is becoming better and better, and that there were a few really good results and really good performances. So we want to continue in that way. It's a little bit pity, of course, to have Danilo and Hagi not in the selection in that way, but that was a decision that we had to make in the beginning of September. And with the circumstances that were there at that moment, it's still the right decision. So it's finding a little bit of a new balance for this game also.”

Philippe, you mentioned the financial gap between the likes of Rangers and Tottenham. Can that be bridged in one night?

Everything can be bridged in one night. So I'm getting old. So I had the luck, and it's not only luck, it's also a lot of hard work, to have as a player and as a manager several nights of those that the gap was amazingly big. And those are also the best nights. If you then perform and you get the results, those are also the nights that you remember all of your life. Those are also the moments that, as a player, you remember your teammates really well. The moments of success, the moment of doing something special, So in that way, I hope the players can give themselves and as a team a special night tomorrow.

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So what memories do you have from your own career?

I don't want to look too old, because you're going to look up how long it was ago. But for example, with Brugge winning in the Champions League in AC Milan 0-1, the team that the year before won the Champions League with Dida, Cafu, Costacuerta, Maldini, Seedorf, Shevchenko, Inzaghi, and a few really good guys on the bench also. So that was a really special evening. And still, if we meet each other, and it doesn't happen so much, people still talk about that evening together. So I had a few of those. Rangers have also several of those in the history and those are the special evenings. So it's a really nice stage for my players.

So you believe your players can put a performance in that they can be talking about for the rest of their lives?

Yeah, I'm convinced that's possible, yes.

Nobody's seen you park the bus, sit that deep, even in European competition when you went away from home. Do you think being aggressive, using the energy of the crowd tomorrow night, even against a Premier League team, is that the best chance you've got of getting a result?

Yeah, but not only that, you need to do a lot of things really well. You cannot press all game on their 16. They're also really good in that, coming out of that. So you need different parts of the game and doing the right things in the different parts. In that way, it's a good challenge. The team is growing in that way, about recognising which moments we need as a team. You can prepare a team before a game, but in the game you need to react in the right way together. In moments, they're learning about that, we've been busy with that, and now it will be the next game about doing that at a higher speed, because this will be at a higher speed and intensity. So that's a really interesting challenge. They've already taken a few really good challenges in the last couple of weeks.

You spoke this season about when you've had good results in European competition, trying to confirm that with consistency. After a good last week domestically, is it really important that one of these two games, Spurs and Celtic, gives you a big result?

I'm not looking towards the second game now. In this, I want my players to be focused on Thursday. Of course, for me, I need to plan both, because they are really close together. If you have one or two days more, you can take it more separately. Now I need to take them together in my mind in making choices. But my players need to be ready just for Spurs, nothing else. And to be focused on that, and give everything. And also knowing that playing at Ibrox with our fans on these European evenings, it's something special, it's something magical. And if they are tough, if they are brave, if they show quality, then there's a lot of energy coming out of the stands also. So that's what we want to give the fans, and that's what the players need to give themselves.

How difficult is it to make that balance and to consider both huge matches? When, as you say, Celtic will have more time to prepare, you go Thursday, Sunday. How difficult is that?

No, I don't want to talk about that now. I only want to talk about Tottenham, because we're here for the Tottenham press conference, and we can talk about other things afterwards. Now all the focus in all the club needs to be on Tottenham. Otherwise we're going to lose energy, we're going to lose time for the wrong reasons now. We have days after to do that. Philippe, there have been moments this season that have been difficult, but the last few weeks have been encouraging. There are signs of positivity coming through.

Given that Spurs are the favourites for this game with the budget they have, does this feel like a no-pressure match that you can go in and it's almost a free hit for your team?

Yeah, but I want pressure. I don't want no pressure, we’re just going to go outside and play a game and we will see if we're going to win or not. That's totally not what I want. No, I want that we put pressure on ourselves to win every game. Like I wanted before also with my other teams to do that.If you speak about the past, going with Brugge to Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain and getting results there was also a huge difference. So no, I want this mentality that they fight from the first second until the last second to get the result and to believe in that also. I believe also that this team has the quality to do that. And I'm happy also that the last couple of weeks that people start to see also more and more these qualities. This is going to be the next step for a few players. It will be the first time that they play at this level. So that's going to be the next interesting test. It's not an exam where they're going to die or not. It's not that, but it's going to be a really interesting test to see who makes another jump again. And that's what we need as a club, to make next jumps.

There's a few players in the squad who have come up against an Ange Postecoglou Celtic team. Is there any lessons or any interesting points that you can pick up from his time here that players might have experienced before that you can translate into how his Spurs side will play?  

No, because I don't think there's much difference how they play now or in the last couple of months. I don't see many differences from the past in the way of playing. So, not really.

Are you expecting an added spice from the crowd with Postecoglou’s return to Ibrox?

I don't know that. I only wish that the fans are behind our players and to push them like it was the last couple of weeks. When the players showed the quality on the pitch, the fans are amazing behind them. We saw it again in Ross County, so far away from here and so many fans. And from the first second to the last second, there was a great atmosphere. But sometimes when you're on the sides, I would prefer to be in the stands instead of standing on the sides because it was that good an atmosphere. So, no, it's all about us. We're focused on ourselves. I'm happy and I see it also when, it doesn't happen so much, but when I come outside or I go to Tesco to buy something, everybody's talking about the new young guys coming into the team and how well they are doing. You feel the excitement with a lot of fans that they see the potential in this squad, that there is potential in this squad and a lot for the future. And they want to see more and more and more of that. So, you feel that this vibe is growing in the city.

Philippe, you just talked about that the vibe growing in the city, that the fans see the potential. How much would a big scalp like beating Tottenham, one of the top Premier League sides, how much would that accelerate the evolution of this young team?

Yeah, it's major experiences because, like I said, you need to do everything faster - your decision-making, your handling of the ball, your runs, your power in the duels, everything. But those are also the top players who can make this adaptation towards this next level. So, it's really interesting to see that tomorrow. And it's a really interesting thing for our club. That's why it's so important that you have these European games, that you play against good opponents, because out of that you can learn a lot - the good things that you do, but also the things that you do wrong for the next time to make it better. And the squad is in that way very hungry. We've done a lot of video sessions the last couple of months about everything because it was a new story from starting from a white page almost with the squad. But they're really hungry for that and you see them month by month growing because they understand things better and better, how to do it together.

You mentioned Spurs beating Manchester City as evidence of how strong they can be, but do you take optimism from their recent form? Because the players will be coming in here maybe confidence low?

No, I never work in that way. So I'm not busy with that. If they would have won all the games until now in the Premier League, I still would go out to win the game with my team. That's the mentality I want to see from my players also. If you start to calculate and doubt and they are good and they're not good and this is really good. We played with Brugge against Messi, Neymar and Mbappé and with Monaco also. So, before the game, if you show the images of them, what they did in their career, it's better to stay home. But it doesn't work that way. That's not football.So, with good collective things, you can do really good things and get results. And this team can also do that with very good collective things and individual actions around that. But it's about the team performance. It's not, like I said, and maybe some people took my words a little bit wrong, after the Ross County game, it's not only about money. It's also about work and what players do together. Otherwise, it would be easy and every team that has more money, they win every time. That's not the case, but the others need to work more. And that's what we need to do tomorrow evening.

These games get the inevitable tag of a battle with Britain. Does that bring more expectation, more pressure? And can you buy into that?

You always keep on talking about pressure, but no, there's no more pressure in that way. Our only pressure that we have is that we want to win every game. And of course, it's good for the outside world and everything around it. It makes a lot of stories and that's exciting also for everybody. But for us, it stays the same if it's against an English team or a top other European team. But for the fans, maybe it can make a difference to show them how Scottish football is and all those things. So we want to do everything well for our fans. And that way, it can mean something else.

James Tavenier was just speaking half an hour ago and he said that the players watched the Tottenham-Chelsea match on the team bus on their way back from Ross County.

Yeah, I put it on the TV.

Did you join them in watching that? Do you watch it in more detail afterwards? How does that work?

No, I put it on that channel. Let's say it like that. So, of course, I watch it. I watch everything. And, of course, we analyse opponents' several games. We have good analysts, but I do also a lot of things myself, watching games, my staff also. But it's not a difference if it's against Tottenham now or it was before against Ross County, because I see the same amount of games of Ross County also.

I know you won't want to give your team away, but you've tinkered with your team when it comes to European matches and then coming back and playing domestically. When you've got a cup final at the end of the week, a huge match like that against your arch-rivals, in your mind, do you feel like you maybe need to make more changes than you would do for a normal league game at the weekend?

Yes, probably, yes. Yeah, that's the reality. If we would have played today or yesterday, it would have been different. Now it's a really short term in between the games. Yeah, I need to make different changes.

Are you comfortable with that? Or is that frustration for you that probably we won't see your strongest team tomorrow night by the sounds of it?

No, it doesn't work that way, because this is also a really good test in the depth of our squad, in that way. And if we want to perform in four competitions, we need good depth in the squad to make these rotations. So that's what you need as a manager at Rangers, at a club like Rangers, to have enough depth to do it every three days and to perform in every competition in that way.