PHILIPPE CLEMENT believes Rangers will need focus and concentration as they face Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League tomorrow evening.
It’s the first European outing as Rangers boss for Clement, and he hopes his squad can build on Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Hibernian as they look to get more points on the board in Group C.
Speaking to the press at this evening’s pre-match press conference at the Epet Arena, the manager said: “We need to show a better level than on Saturday because Sparta are really good on the ball, they have good quality players, good structure and a good coach also.
“There have been good signs these last two days in training, everybody is up for a great European evening, and in these evenings you need to be very focused, very concentrated and you need to take your moments.
“I don't have a crystal ball to know how the game will be, but it can be that it is a really difficult game and in the end we score a goal and we get a draw and it is a really good result but I always play to win and I see this mentality with the players also. We know if we can do that here we will make another important step in this group.”
When asked about his expectations from his team, and if it differs from a domestic fixture, Clement says he hopes to create a Rangers team that try to be dominant in every game.
He explained: “I want to create a team that tries to be dominant in every game, even against teams that are better than us. We have qualities in this squad, of course this is just the beginning of the story, but I see players with good focus in training and off the pitch, so I hope to create a story as fast as possible.
“We still have a margin of progression for sure and that is what we are going to work on every day. In the next two and a half weeks we will have six games so it is going to be hard, we need the squad fit, we need the players fit so we can be sharp.”
With injuries to Borna Barisic and Dujon Sterling, and Ridvan not named in the European squad, Clement insists it is about finding a solution for the left-back position.
He added: “There's not a natural left back in the squad, I am not a coach who likes to continue making circles when there is a problem, I look for solutions so it will be another player who will fill that position and do the job for the team so we will need to find solutions.
“You can keep on talking about it and being negative about it, but somebody else needs to step in and do the job for the team so I expect everybody to attack together, defend together and move together.”
In the dugout tomorrow evening, Clement will be up against Sparta Prague manager, and former teammate Brian Priske. When asked about their relationship, the Rangers boss said: “We have known each other for a long time. Brian was before playing in Genk, my old club and after that he came to Brugge where we played together.
“We kept in touch over the years because we had a good relationship. Later on, he also became a coach in Belgium so I have known him a really long time. He is a really nice person, he is also a football addict so that is a good way to spend evenings together where we can talk about football.
“It is going to be great to see each other again because it has been a while now, but we are both also people that love each other before and after the game, during the game it will be a little bit less.”