Before kick-off, few complained about the line-up, maybe Dujon Sterling for Borna Barisic but the former is only just back to fitness, like several members of the squad.
At full-time, the Rangers manager took a lot of flack on social media for the defeat, however, Philippe Clement is far from culpable for the Dingwall disaster. Rangers struggle not down to Philippe Clement
It was a positive team selection.
An attacking midfield balanced with a defence that has played together on numerous occasions.
The forward line also looked stronger with the addition of Abdallah Sima from the start.
Since Clement took charge, we have been aggressive out of possession and won the ball back quickly and high up the park.
In recent weeks though, the midfield has been posted missing, struggling to play out from the back and vulnerable as soon as the ball is turned over.
Huge gaps in the middle of the park appear with and without the ball and John Lundstram, in particular, just doesn’t seem to be where he is needed in both situations.
How many times in 2024 have we seen Lundstram switch off, fail to cover a runner or get caught ball watching?
Good player? Yes.
A natural number six? No chance.
There was no control because the gaps were too big. Lundstram was too far away from Kieran Dowell and Todd Cantwell was trying to do it all on his own in the final third.
You don’t get control with your midfield 50 yards apart.
There is only so much Clement can do with the same players
We never used to have this problem under Clement so it’s a puzzle to work out why it has happened now.
Clement’s post-match press conference suggests that he tried to fix it without making any changes but that the players just didn’t adjust because, if anything, it got worse, with James Tavernier explaining what the manager had told them:
“The gaffer warned us and we didn’t respond. We started really poorly in the second-half. But the game is done, we’re obviously disappointed that we’ve dropped the points.
“We’ve got six games to play and we’ve obviously got to step it up now for Wednesday and the remainder of the season.”
So, the players were warned about their first half deficiencies, only to ignore the manager and went out in the second half only to play even worse?
And then, there is the forward line.
Fabio Silva should be dominating these games as a £35m player with his potential, but he continues to flatter to decieve when he doesn’t have space to exploit.
As for Cyriel Dessers…
We can talk tactics and game plans all we want but when your striker continues to miss sitters, there isn’t much a manager can do with nobody capable of replacing him from the start of the game.
Philippe Clement puts a lot of trust in his players, however, there has to be changes ahead of the next game against Dundee on Wednesday.
He isn’t blameless today but he has been badly let down by the players, however, giving some of them a chance to redeem themselves could end with a similar result.
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