Philippe Clement makes ‘Quite incredible’ Rangers decisions at Ibrox
Philippe Clement’s ability to get a tune out of Rangers despite tinkering with his line-up this has seen has been “quite incredible”, according to Derek Ferguson.
The Gers went top of the Scottish Premiership by beating St Johnstone 3-0 last Sunday (February 18), a day after Celtic were held by Kilmarnock.
It could be a gap that stretches to five if the Light Blues defeat Hearts this coming Saturday (24 February), with Celtic visiting Motherwell a day later.
Ferguson, speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, said he is unsure what side will be put out as it is extremely difficult to second-guess the Rangers boss.
“It’s so hard to call what his thoughts are, what he’s thinking. You talk about Ross McCausland, he’s had a great run there,” he said.
“There was one game where he wasn’t at his best but the manager kept faith with him right through the 90 minutes, he was rested the next game and Scott Wright came in, he didn’t do too clever, that was against St Johnstone.
“Cyriel Dessers, again, the chances he’s been missing, sometimes you’re kind of shaking your head but the thing about Dessers he gives it his all, he’s a trier.
“I couldn’t tell you the team, you even look at left-back Ridvan Yilmaz, Borna Barisic, they seem to be chopping and changing. Then the middle of the park, Tom Lawrence is back fully fit in there, Todd Cantwell has been playing out of his skin.
“He seems to play them and get certain minutes out of them then brings other players in for a spell but he always gets a tune out of them, which is quite incredible.
“Having a starting XI and going three, four, five games I think that’s gone because clearly he looks at this game and clearly it’s a massive game but I sometimes think he’s got an eye on the other games coming up because we’ve got Kilmarnock, the Europa League coming up as well, so he always speaks about the squad.
“He’s got most of them fit, still a few to come back, but in terms of what’s that side going to be? I’m not sure but it’ll be a side that’s pumped up, they have a two-point advantage at the moment.
“I’m not so sure on Dessers, I think Fabio Silva will come back in, maybe McCausland. I’m not so sure but you’ll have players that will be really at it and not just win but put on a really good performance.”
Who will start for Rangers v Hearts?
Pretty much everything Clement has touched this season has turned to gold at Ibrox, with their solitary defeat under the Belgian coming against Celtic at the end of last year.
Clement has had to deal with a lot of injuries since taking the helm at Ibrox but even when players are healthy he hasn’t been afraid to mix up his XIs.
So, it is difficult to predict who will get the nod against Hearts this weekend, with a few options available to the gaffer.
What is for sure, whoever gets the jersey is going to be right up for the game as Rangers try to apply more pressure in a thrilling title race.
In other Rangers news, Barry Ferguson has made a new demand of one Gers ace.
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