DAN & DUSTED
Irish defender Casey seals leaders’ fate as Motherwell shock Ibrox
PHILIPPE CLEMENT says he’ll now find out if his Rangers team have what it takes to be champions – after suffering a major blow in the title race.
The Ibrox gaffer had his first real setback since taking over with a shock 2-1 home defeat to Motherwell.
That gives Old Firm rivals Celtic the chance to overtake them at the top of the Premiership today with a win over Hearts.
And after squandering their lead with a surprise loss to Well, Clement insists he’ll now find out what his players are really made of – and how they respond to adversity.
After goals from Theo Bair and former Bohemians defender Dan Casey condemned the Belgian to his first Ibrox reverse, he says he expected it to come sooner. Clement said: “That’s the interesting thing now. I didn’t expect to have this moment after five months in the building. I thought it would be much earlier.
“Now I’ll get to know my team even better. I know them really well already. But now I’ll see who are the guys who stand up after a disappointment.
“I don’t doubt it too much. They are very disappointed and a lot of heads are down. I’m disappointed too not to get the three points. But you need to cope with it, take the right lessons and learn from it to become better. That’s our ambition now. “I said it from the beginning, it’s a marathon. What the players have done until now has been exceptional. “How many times was the ball saved on the line today? A day like today hasn’t happened too much in my career if I’m honest.” Clement’s side had plenty of chances after equalising through a James Tavernier penalty – but Motherwell were a constant threat on the break. The Rangers manager said: “We didn’t start the game well or the way we wanted. We talked about that a lot and the players wanted it. But the quality with the ball and without it, in the action of their goal, wasn’t good enough.”
Rangers don’t have a Premiership game for a fortnight with a Europa League double-header against Benfica and a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie away at Hibs to come first.
Clement now has to lift his team for a first-leg trip to Lisbon on Thursday night.
He said: “Thursday’s game will be totally different. We are not favourites because it’s against a team with a much bigger budget and with a lot of quality in all the squad.
“This won’t be a barometer of where we are at the moment. It is going to be more in the cup game at Hibs where we see that.”