Yes for sure and I’m going to talk about that this week, but not with you guys. We take a lot of time looking at other teams to find their strengths and weaknesses and I don’t want to make the job of my colleagues too easy.

My first opportunity to speak to our new manager and I’m delighted to say I was shot down in flames. I had (some might say stupidly) asked what he felt his team had to improve upon after he had played down Rangers demolition of Hibs this weekend and whilst he was polite, the question was dismissed with a rye smile and air of confidence that you couldn’t help but be impressed by. If Michael Beale spoke too much (I think we can agree he did) Philippe Clement has shown this week that he will be a lot more measured and tell us exactly what he wants, when he wants and not the other way about.

The new boss urged caution to the Rangers support after the Light Blues flew out the traps at a confident Hibs team, instantly getting  the capacity crowd onside and in doing so, gave the them a glimpse of what might be to come under his stewardship. When it was finally announced that Clement was to become the 19th permanent manager of Rangers I, like many others was struggling to get too excited about the appointment. That’s not a slight on Philippe Clement, he was certainly the best candidate, and I was definitely satisfied with him getting the job, I just felt that with a squad so disjointed and underperforming, it would require miracles for anyone to get a tune out of them. Whilst, I fully endorse the comments from the manager (and plenty of our fans) not to get carried away, it’s fair to say I thoroughly enjoyed my day out and more specifically I enjoyed watching us play, words I’ve not heard any of our fans utter for a very long time. Yes, I admit it, I was a wee bit excited leaving the stadium today (so much for not getting carried away) Not that the manager is paying any attention to that:

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Impressed is a big word! I’m happy about the result and the seeds we planted this week, the team is trying to do them but, I saw a lot of details that we can make better.  I thought the team stayed in the structure, made good runs without the ball and maintained a good tempo. The most important thing for me was the reaction after losing the ball or missing a chance, that’s a crucial part in modern football.

That last sentence really struck me, particularly as he reiterated it later in his post-match press conference. I’ve said it countless times but, the very least you expect from Rangers players is for them to leave everything out on the pitch and I think we seen that today. Whether it was complicated coaching methods, lack of any sort of structure, training regime, or players simply not respecting the previous boss, I don’t think this is something the players can claim to have done in every game this season. There was a lightness and urgency in some of them that we haven’t seen for a long time. Tavernier, Goldson and Lundstram were like men possessed today, they played with a freedom that we’ve been crying out for, for weeks and drove the team forward in exactly the way senior players should. Philippe Clement, whilst clearly happy about that, refused to go all in just yet:

It’s like the honeymoon, everything is new, they need to confirm this over the coming weeks and months.  The down side for me is seeing a player falling out (of the game) after ten minutes and other players who struggled to play ninety minutes. We have several players either injured or coming back from injury so that’s going to be a mean task, along with the performance staff to get everyone back to his best physical level to produce this type of games, and better. It’s not about doing it in one moment and then being too tired to do it again three days later so, we have a lot to do.

One thing the manager has addressed a couple of times this week is the Rangers support and the need for his team to get us onside right away and I’m glad he did. Our fans are very much reactive to what they see on the pitch, it’s never been a place for ‘happy clappers’ and whilst I admire those who can sing their hearts out for 90 minutes no matter what is going on, it’s fair to say things had become pretty toxic. We all revel in the huge European nights when Ibrox acts as a 12th man and drives the team to victory but, with that level of intensity and fierceness, it can also become a negative when things aren’t going well. John Lundstram spoke openly of this last season and how difficult a place to play, Ibrox can be and it appears the new manager is well aware of that particular challenge and has it high up on his list of priorities.

I’m most happy to see the synergy between the players and fans was back today. The team started in the way I wanted them to start with direct, high pressing which created chances and corners because we were so high and the fans followed on top of the players in a positive way until the end. This needs to be our strength in the next couple of months, especially in the more difficult moments.

A word must go to Cyriel Dessers, who capped off a fine display with a composed finish to make it 4-0 late in the game. Dessers, along with a couple of others have, taken the brunt of the criticism this season but, I thought he led the line superbly well today. He covered every blade of grass and whilst he did lack composure in the box at times, I’m hoping this goal settles him down and he kicks on from here. The big man was full of smiles after the game and it was clearly buzzing at receiving a standing ovation from the Ibrox crowd and it was also great to see his team mates go to him as one after his goal to acknowledge a guy who had worked his backside off. The manager, was a bit more reserved:

For Cyriel it’s simple, it’s about working hard every day and repeating but, doing hard work for the team as well. I think even if he didn’t score today he had a good game because he worked for the team. This is the same for others and because of that we were able to press. Hibs are a good team, as they have shown the past couple of weeks with good football but, they struggled to have their normal game because our attacking players done such a good defensive job. For me it’s not important who is scoring goals, whether it’s a striker or central defender it’s just about scoring the goals, getting the results and being one team all of the time.

I know the ‘glass half empty’ types among us will argue that ‘we’ve heard all this before’ but, my gut reaction is that it feels a little different this time. Clement carries an air about of him of someone who is in complete control and has an attention to detail that we have been missing for quite some time. Even the little things, such as how he went about his business on the touchline impressed me. He kicked every ball with the team (quite literally at one point), constantly giving instructions and when he wasn’t doing that it was to offer encouragement, applaud the players for trying to be proactive and taking them aside for a quick word as they were coming off. Put simply he looks like a manager who will support his players all the way but, it’s quite clear he is a guy you absolutely do not want to cross and again, I think that is something that has been badly missing from the Rangers dressing room.

Rangers now travel to Prague this midweek feeling a little lighter on their feet and with the fans actually looking forward to the next game for the first time in weeks. One thing is clear, the urgency that we saw today must remain a feature. For me it was the single most pleasing thing about today’s performance. We had a team fighting for each other and the crowd responded in kind. Following his usual pattern the manager was keen to keep  a lid on that but, he did reiterate something he spoke about pre-game.

In moments yes and in moments not so, there are things to show them because in the moment we do it we are a really dangerous team and we created good chances. It’s about getting continuity, keeping the quality and keeping the hunger and passion to play forward. But even when it did go wrong I am happy about the reaction because it’s not only about being fast and scoring goals but, I think our reaction to the bad moments is possibly the reason we won this game by more goals, it’s the most important thing for me.

Lee Clark