Sky Sports journalist shares instant Philippe Clement change from Michael Beale in Rangers v Hibernian
Sky Sports journalist Mark Benstead has shared the instant change that Philippe Clement has made at Rangers since taking over from Michael Beale.
The Light Blues began their time under the former Monaco boss with a 4-0 win over Hibernian thanks to goals from Abdallah Sima, Nicolas Raskin and Cyriel Dessers to ensure that they moved to within four points of Celtic before the Hoops face Hearts on Sunday (22 October).
While much of the starting XI named by Clement for his maiden Ibrox outing was similar to that employed by Beale during his time in charge before the October international break, Benstead believed that the new manager had altered the way that Rangers were pressing.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (21 October, 15:12) he said: “When a new manager comes in, you’re looking to see what he will do differently.
“It looks like he is asking his team to press that bit higher than Michael Beale did.”
Get stuck in
One of the biggest criticisms made about Beale’s side at the beginning of the campaign was how passive they could be in matches, especially when they would allow teams to settle into matches and slowly pick them apart, but Clement looks to have tried to change that.
By pressing high, the Light Blues immediately put the opposition on the back foot and make it much harder to then build from the back and with the pace in Clement’s front line, he has the sort of players that can make life very difficult for defenders.
Rangers have been wasteful in front of goal, but should they win back possession more often in the opposition half, they will have a lot less work to do to create a goalscoring opportunity than they otherwise would if they reclaim possession on the edge of their own box.
What will be interesting to see is whether this is a tactic that has been specifically employed for the match against Hibernian, or whether it is indicative of how Clement intends to set up his team from here on out. With a trip to Sparta Prague up next in the Europa League, it would be excellent to see Rangers press from the off in what will be a hostile match.
In other Rangers news, Cyriel Dessers was lucky to not be substituted at half-time against Hibs having lost every duel in the first half