Philippe Clement sends telling message to Todd Cantwell during Rangers loss v Celtic
Tom English says Rangers manager Philippe Clement opting against bringing on Todd Cantwell versus Celtic was “a telling snub”.
Cantwell was not only left out of the starting line-up at Parkhead, he was also not brought on despite Clement making five substitutions.
The decision is even more surprising when factoring in that the Gers were chasing a goal for half of the game, which ended in a 2-1 loss.
Writing in his column for BBC Sport [11 May], English said: “It was instructive that in desperate need of somebody to punish Celtic, he left Todd Cantwell on the bench for the entire game. That was a telling snub.”
Todd Cantwell future at Rangers uncertain
Cantwell was superb upon joining the Light Blues from Norwich City in February 2023, but he has not been at the same level this season.
Five goals and four assists in 28 Scottish Premiership appearances is simply not good enough for a player of Cantwell’s ability.
The Englishman has too often gone missing in games and that is why Clement decided against starting him against Celtic on Saturday (11 May).
However, it was a surprise that Cantwell was not called upon from the bench either at half-time or in the second half.
Instead, Ross McCausland, Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe were called upon in attack, as well as Nico Raskin and Ridvan Yilmaz elsewhere.
With a clearout being mooted at Ibrox this summer, you have to wonder exactly where Cantwell features in Clement’s plans going forward.
Cantwell now has just two league fixtures – effectively dead rubbers – to win back his place in time for the Scottish Cup final with Celtic.
In other Rangers news, Peter Grant delivered a scathing verdict on what John Lundstram did against Celtic.
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