Philippe Clement in 'questions' claim over referee's Rangers calls

Your assessment of that match?

The result is not good because you want to win but we had more shots than Celtic today and played 15 minutes with 10 players and that was the right decision - it was a red card. I have other questions about why no handball in the first half to get a penalty because it was clear, why no second yellows for some tackles and then in the end of the game a lot of yellow cards. A few strange decisions but I am focused on my team and how they performed. We did a lot of good things, my players were brave on the ball and created enough chances. We were not decisive enough in our finishing today and they were really decisive in the moments they had, especially the second goal. Because of that you can lose games, that can happen. If the players show this mentality, even with 10 we were pushing and creating. There is not much negative about my team for me to say. In a few actions we could have done better - that’s clear. If I see where they were today compared to two months ago, I think it is a big difference.

On the referee calls, we finally got the lines…

Afterwards, but the decision was not made about an offside. The decision was made there was no penalty because no handball, that was the decision and it is a really strange one for me.

Need more clarity at the time as well?

🗣️ "There was no penalty because of no handball, that was the decision, so that's a really strange decision for me."

Rangers boss Philippe Clement analyses his teams 2-1 defeat to Celtic and asks why a penalty was not given before the realisation of the offside call 🔽 pic.twitter.com/f4992pyn80

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) December 30, 2023

For sure.

You had chances, just need to be more clinical?

There is no frustration. Some days it happens and some not. I saw a really good determination in everything. I see top players like Mbappe and Haaland not scoring on every occasion so I don’t want to be negative about that. We scored a good goal also. Everyone saw a good game where two teams wanted to play football. We showed enough to get at least a point and win the game even. We need to keep on growing together.

Does it say a lot the home crowd were nervy at the end?

It shows the resilience of the team and character they have even with 10 men to keep pressing and not running backwards. They showed the mentality I want to see. We were unlucky with the two goals and if we get this penalty it’s a 2-2 with Tav’s quality. I have seen what I have seen with my team.

Your team needed to stick to the task at 2-0 down?

For sure, it’s a quality goal [by Kyogo]. Those things happen not every week. It is a part of football you need to accept and react and my team did even with 10. I am most pleased about that because I want to see that every game.

What have you learned about your team halfway through the season?

That they are a good team, growing and getting better. The squad is becoming bigger and players are pushing to be in the team. There is one more game on Tuesday and we need the three points - that is crucial to put full focus on that.