Inside Clement's new Rangers plan - Danilo, Hagi, Igamane

Asked last month amid an inconsistent start to the season and injuries in key positions if Rangers would alter their formation, he replied “Changing the formation in this moment, I think it will only create more doubts. How are you going to change the formation if you can train on that for one time?”

“He is not a big fan of changing formation during the season,” was how one former colleague of the Belgian put it to the Rangers Review recently. Another cited that once Clement has a system in mind for a team, he’ll persist with it relentlessly rather than changing when the going gets tough.

Throughout the season there have been small tweaks and alterations - but none so far have worked as well as the most recent tactical shift.

In a 6-0 win over Kilmarnock and 3-0 reverse against Ross County in Dingwall Rangers enjoyed their best domestic showing and most comfortable away win of the entire league season. At the root of both results was a rejuvenated attack, both in approach and personnel.

Clement is normally a relatively strict coach on positions. That was part of the reason things never clicked with Todd Cantwell on the park. He wants positional discipline over positional freedom, or so it seemed. The latest line-up designed shows that, while time has no doubt helped the 50-year-old’s ideas reach his players, attacking upturn has largely been provided by individuals in a tactical template that optimises their qualities.

When Hamza Igamane came off the bench late on in Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Dundee United he replaced Nedim Bajrami on the left. Ianis Hagi was operating as a No.10 and Danilo the No.9.

However, when Danilo came off the bench away at McDiarmid Park a week later he moved into the No.10 slot, pushing Hagi wide and keeping Igamane up top. Was this not a case of Clement misprofiling his players?

Apparently not. More work, largely carried out through video, in the days before the 6-0 Kilmarnock win finessed the ideas behind the system designed to maximise each players' strength, mitigate weaknesses and give the opposition a problem Rangers have rarely posed them this season - variation.

Aside from injecting three individual profiles which improve the team, one clever rotation has defined the Ibrox side’s attacking play all week. On the teamsheet, and importantly off the ball, Rangers start with Hagi on the left, Danilo in the No.10 spot and Igamane at No.9.

More often than not, the front line rotates to look something like this. With Igamane drifting to attack from the left-wing, Hagi rotating into the centre and Danilo pushing up to spearhead the attack.

Why? First, consider what it does to the opposition. Especially when facing defences like Kilmarnock and Ross County, who want to man-mark, it either pulls defenders out of position or, if they choose to not follow the rotation, frees up a Rangers attacker - as we’ll see for the opening goal. Additionally, it introduces some variation into a Rangers attack which has proven so one-dimensional and straight-lined all season in the league.

Secondly, it gets each individual mentioned into their favoured spot on the pitch even if they don’t start there.

Igamane has been excellent in the past fortnight with clever flicks, unorthodox play and a consistent goal threat. However, if asked to remain as a focal point the Moroccan’s impact can be weakened. Igamane wants to move towards the ball, receive it facing goal and provide a ball-carrying threat. Allowing him to often receive the ball on the left in the attacking third, as seen for three of the four goals scored in the past fortnight or so, is a clever move.

Danilo can link play with his back to goal and improve others around him. He’s an intelligent player able to run beyond but is at his best operating in the pockets and then attacking the box, with runners alongside him. What’s more, moving from the No.10 spot to the No.9 spot enables Danilo to often arrive into the final third unmarked.

And finally, Hagi, while not a winger, introduces a greater degree of variation than Bajrami from the left because he can go both ways. The Romanian is not always looking to chop inside onto his right foot as his second assist in midweek demonstrated. Similarly to Danilo the system enables him a degree of positional freedom and responsibility he should thrive within.

Generally speaking, without an out-and-out winger in the selection, this approach allows Rangers more runners with the ball from wide areas. The defence has a route forward given Danilo’s strength with his back to goal thus aiding the build-up. More forward running creates the space Clement’s football needs to work. Away from the static straight lines at the start of the season, this iteration has proven far more effective.

Igamane’s opening goal on the day was a perfect example of the rotation in action. Indeed in the first minutes of the game, the No.29 dropped off the front line and took a defender with him, demonstrating the gaps his movement could create.

Before the five-minute mark, a switch of play from James Tavernier to Jefte triggered Igamane to again start an inside-to-out movement. Jefte’s excellent first-time pass is key but so too is the fact that, this time, no defender has followed Igamane. Note the positioning of Danilo and Hagi.

Rotations are designed to this effect, creating a moment of doubt in the defence while there is clarity in the attack to fashion separation.

The rest of the move from here is simple. Jefte’s overlap attracts two men and pulls the hosts closer towards their own goal. Igamane can step onto a pass and strike the ball from the area he wants to, the left half-space.

The remainder of the first-half was littered with further examples.

Here’s Ianis Hagi getting on the ball wide, chopping his defender with a two-footed threat while Igamane and Danilo attack as a front two, with the latter moving up unmarked off the back of the County defence to shoot inside the area.

Here’s one of the many examples of Danilo helping Rangers up the park by dropping and linking a midfield and attack often strangers in away games this season.

Of course, Clement’s side have only won two matches. It would be disingenuous to suggest they’ve turned a corner even when considering the fact they managed half as many goals in two games this week (9) as they had in 13 league games previously (18).

For a rotation like this to work, a manager needs players who can fulfil multiple roles on the pitch. The best football systems in the world are Swiss army knives with multiple methods of attack, multiple eventualities for a defence to consider.

Read more:

• Clement's formula to unlock Rangers - and why he used it for first time this season
• How Rangers found Hamza Igamane - new data, Morocco meeting and recruitment change
• Inside the significant board change expected following Rangers AGM announcement

Much of the Belgian’s spell at Ibrox has been a story of playing square pegs in round holes. Fabio Silva from the left-wing, Tom Lawrence as a deep-lying midfielder, Dujon Sterling here, there and everywhere.

Much of the start of this season featured predictable attacking play. Cyriel Dessers always wanting to run behind and never link play, Lawrence demonstrating the opposite desire, Vaclav Cerny and Bajrami insistent on cutting inside.

The system in action over the past week has been anything but. It must be the start of things to come in domestic football moving forwards for Clement.