Philippe Clement holds Rangers players talks as Europa League squad call looms
Philippe Clement is “not happy” that certain players will not be part of his Rangers squad for the Europa League when the competition resumes.
The Gers were left hamstrung during the group stage when Borna Barisic was ruled out and deputy Ridvan Yilmaz was not part of their squad.
Teams were made to name their 25-man groups back in August, at which point Michael Beale was in charge at Ibrox.
Minimal changes can be made prior to the knockout rounds, but some players will not make the cut due to the size of Rangers’ squad.
Asked if he already knows what changes he intends to make, Philippe Clement said at Friday’s (2 February) weekly presser: “I had discussions with players about that this afternoon because I am not happy with the rule.
“The rule is the rule for all the teams and I understand the idea. I was not totally aligned with how the European list started at the beginning of the season.
“It was also what it is. I can only make three changes. That will create a few players I wanted on the list cannot be. That’s a reality.”
Europa League squad rule
The decision on UEFA’s behalf is pretty ridiculous to an extent, a perfect case in point being when Clement took charge in October.
The Belgian was unable to call upon Ridvan due to a decision made by his predecessor a couple of months earlier.
If a team has a 50-man squad, for argument’s sake, they should be able to call upon any of those players.
As it is, teams must select 25 players this month ahead of the knockouts, not including locally-trained players.
Ridvan will be included in the squad, assuming he stays, while Sam Lammers will make way. One or two of the new signings may be left out, though.
Clement has a tough call to make in that regard, but he has already showed he is comfortable making big decisions when needed.
And if nothing else, it means that every player will now give their absolute all to ensure they make it into the European squad.
In other Rangers news, the Gers’ transfer business may not be over just yet following comments made by Clement.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.