Clement audits game like Ange
assor tment of mult i- mi l lion pound misfits.
I ’ ve always laughed at the xenophobic attitude of the fans in this country who look at a foreign player when he arrives here from somewhere more exotic and question his credentials with a sneering remark.
“Aye but can he do it on a wet midweek night in Dundee?” is the challenge.
C lement ’ s side provided an emph a t i c a l l y positive answer to that one while scoring five goals at Dens Park in midweek.
The manager speaks about his introductory phase at Ibrox as being an “observation period”.
Last Sunday’s league win over Hearts was a “reference game”.
Today’s Viaplay Cup semi-final with Hearts at Hampden might be thought a confirmation fixture. Confirmation of Clement’s influence on his players growing at a ferocious rate. Too ferocious for Hearts to stop them from reaching the final, I suspect.
If Clement hadn’t been otherwise occupied this weekend, he would have been taking on St Johnstone in a league match at Ibrox.
The Saints players, after a midweek win over Killie, seemed to get the bounce that came from no longer having Steven MacLean as manager.
MacLean gave an impression he thought praise was a sign of weakness and threats worked better to i nc ent i v i s e players.
Clement has not been overly critical, or excessively b oa s t f u l . Be i n g controlled has worked for him so far – like it did with Ange.
Clement and Ange (left) didn’t take long to suss our game
g in Stayin works l contro it did – like ge for An
Rodgers lacks security blanket