Kris Boyd makes ‘Huge’ Philippe Clement claim at Rangers live on Sky Sports
Kris Boyd gave Philippe Clement his flowers for his “huge” achievement in recording a top-eight finish in the Europa League with Rangers.
The Gers will bypass the knockout playoff round and head straight into the round of 16 after Nicolas Raskin and Vaclav Cerny secured a 2-1 win against Union SG at Ibrox last Thursday (30 January) in the final league phase game.
Rob Wotton asked Boyd for his verdict on the Light Blues’ Europa League achievement live on Sky Sports News (5 February, 10:27am) after facing four of the top-eight sides in their league phase fixtures.
He said: “Huge. When you look at [the games against] Manchester United, Olympiakos and Spurs as well, against Manchester United, [Rangers] were unlucky, they got themselves back into it.
“They go to Olympiakos [and] get a draw. Lyon was the other one, but they battered Rangers at Ibrox. I think for Rangers to look at it and consider the ones that they have played, to be in the position they were in – it’s not been the easiest of campaigns in the Europa League for Rangers.
“But you have got to give a lot of credit to Philippe Clement and the players because they found a way to get through into the last 16.”
Rangers can find success in Europa League
Although Chris Sutton warned Celtic that Rangers still have an outside shout for the Scottish Premiership title this season, the 10 point gap between the sides suggests otherwise.
The early-season rut Clement suffered, including a 3-0 loss at Celtic Park in the first Old Firm derby of the season, has left the Gers with too much work to do to catch their Glaswegian rivals.
Meanwhile, their form on the European stage has been night and day compared to their SPFL form, as the Light Blues are guaranteed a spot in the round of 16.
Contrary to popular belief, the Europa League campaign is proving profitable, with finance expert Dan Plumley relaying to Ibrox News on 21 January that Rangers will receive a £10million windfall minimum for the top-eight finish.
The Gers may not be favourites to reach the final in Bilbao on 21 May, but the deeper they progress into the competition the heftier the overall cash prize will be at the end of the season.
Considering Nils Koppen once again failed to offload the deadwood at Ibrox – with a loan with option to buy deal for Rabbi Matondo to Hannover the only notable senior departure in the winter transfer window – any boost to the coffers is more than welcome.
However, Rangers have gone toe-to-toe with the best in this year’s competition and, despite a mixed bag of results, cannot be ruled out to progress into the later rounds of the Europa League this season.
In other Rangers news, an “incredible” Gers ace has been backed to succeed away from Ibrox.
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