Clement says team can feel ‘really proud’ of Europa League campaign

Rangers manager Philippe Clement believes his team can hold their heads up high after they fell just short against Benfica at a frenetic Ibrox.

Uefa might breathe a sigh of relief – one of the teams they suggested would pose some logistical problems in terms of number of fans travelling to the final in Dublin in May won’t be present.

But Rangers will regret their failure to complete the job after securing a commendable 2-2 draw in Lisbon last week.

A tight call that saw Rafa Silva’s goal midway through the second half stand after initially being ruled out for offside meant Benfica triumphed 3-2 on aggregate to take another step towards Ireland instead.

Rangers created few clear-cut chances but were backed by a noisy home crowd on a night of incessant rain in Glasgow. The hosts just could not find the breakthrough and were stung by a breakaway goal from their own corner.

Clement considered whether the narrow loss represented a missed chance or not. “It’s a difficult question because if you see where the team was, not five months ago, but two months ago, they could not compete in this way with Benfica,” he said.

“So the team is still growing and if I see the game last week and now, on the ball it’s a big difference. So the team is growing and we need to adapt to the circumstances.

“If you see the budget of the two clubs you need, as a Scottish club, to be really proud with what the players showed. It was really tight margins and if you look back at last week, if you don’t concede the penalty which was not a penalty, then it could have been extra-time now.

“But we look at ourselves and what we can do better as a team. The players showed that they can be better on the ball and they defended really hard and solid together. “So we are going to continue that story in the next weeks and the next months. That’s the most important thing now. We need to leave this European competition and to be really proud. To be first in your Europa league group and then to be really competitive in two games with a team like Benfica is something that the club can be really proud about.”

Rangers remain firmly in the hunt for a domestic treble having already won the League Cup in December. They head to Dens Park on Sunday to face Dundee.

Clement stressed that his players were not sitting in the dressing room lamenting the season being over. He noted that it had already been a memorable season with still more potentially to come.

The Ibrox side are currently two points clear of second place Celtic in the Premiership. They face Hearts in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup next month.

“I think it’s already been a memorable season. How long ago did Rangers last win the League Cup?” said Clement.

“We’re hungry for the two other trophies. We’re going to stick together, work really hard to focus on those two goals.

“I’ve read a lot of times the last couple of weeks that it was maybe better that we’re not in Europe anymore. id idn’ t agree, I told you, and I still don’t agree. But we’re now focusing on the two other trophies.”