PHILIPPE CLEMENT says his side need to show their belief again on Sunday as they head for Hampden for the League Cup final.
A spirited performance on Thursday evening saw Rangers draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League, and the manager hopes they can build on that in the weekend’s Old Firm clash.
Speaking to the media at this afternoon’s pre-match press conference, Clement said: “If you don't have that belief as a player, as a manager, as a club you cannot play like we did against Tottenham. So, it starts with belief before the game, not during the game.
“The belief was there before the game, the belief has been there for quite a while and the team feel that they are making steps in every sense, so it is about doing that again on Sunday.
“It is about recovery now and then to pick the right squad, to get some fresh legs in the team and to play our football against Celtic, it is going to be a really good clash with two good teams.”
On his squad, the manager said the extent of John Souttar’s injury is still being assessed after the defender had to be substituted in the first half of last night’s match.
Clement explained: “I first need to get an assessment and that is not clear yet. I know John would do everything to play that game. He is very motivated for the club and winning trophies so I know he will give his best, but it needs to be something that is possible, we will see.”
When asked if Thursday’s performance was the best, we have seen under him, the manager continued: “We have a more energetic team than last season. We had a squad last season with a lot of older players who had less legs than before.
“I am a perfectionist and towards the end of the season the legs were maybe gone. But we have a younger, more energetic squad but they have to learn but they are in a good dynamic, you can see tactically it is getting better.
“We have more work to do after every game to explain everything, so it is clear for the players, and they learn from mistakes. We are hungry to learn and that’s always interesting about new players.
“You see them play somewhere in a different formation and tactics, but you need to see what they can do for you. You can see the physical things, and technically what they can do, but how fast they learn is the most difficult thing to analyse before they come here.
“If you see the progression several players have made, we have made a lot of good choices.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s final, Clement said the squad need to be clinical in the big moments at Hampden. He continued: “We have to score, to be efficient and to defend really well. Celtic are a team who are really good on the ball with a lot of quality players.
“They showed in the league, they showed it in Europe, so we need to play a very mature game and be well organised. We need to play our football and create chances like we have been doing in the last couple of weeks.
“We need to grab our moments in the top games, that is crucial. In the top games you don’t get 20 chances, you need to grab the moments. You have to handle the emotion, there will be mind games during the game. They need to handle that, and you have to prepare for that as a staff.
“It is interesting the parts you have to melt together to have a good game like we did against Tottenham, and we have to look to do it the same way.”