Philippe Clement is confident Rangers can have an “amazing” season
Gers switch their focus back to the title race after Viaplay Cup glory
Rangers manager Philippe Clement believes sacrificing the individual for the collective can help the club to an “amazing” season.
The Light Blues clinched their first silverware of the year after James Tavernier's 76th minute strike fired them to a 1-0 Viaplay Cup final victory over Aberdeen at Hampden Park.
It came after Clement guided Rangers to a thrilling 3-2 win over Real Betis in Seville last week, securing a spot in the last 16 of the Europa League to round off a fantastic week for the club.
"When I came into the club, the confidence was not there"
Speaking ahead of St Johnstone’s visit to Ibrox on Wednesday night, the Belgian boss said: “When I came into the club the confidence was not there, but I saw what I saw in the games and the first days in training.
"Every experience makes you stronger. The strongest teams I played in were teams that were together for two or three years and those were teams that had a lot of experience together.
"You not only become stronger out of good experiences but also out of bad experiences.
"Every experience with this group will make it stronger and winning in Seville, winning a cup and winning the first silverware, proving a lot of things that had been said not so long ago about these players, that it was wrong.
"They need to keep this hunger"
"They need to continue doing that and keeping this hunger. If they keep the hunger, if they also keep the collectivity and this solidarity that it's not important to start or not to start, and it's not about them but about the team then we're going to make it an amazing season. I'm confident about that.
"The moment players start to think about themselves and to take themselves out of the collective, it will be more difficult.
"Then we will speak with them. It's going to happen, I'm not naive and I know if there is success there are also people around the players who are influential or who try to become more influential.
"We have to make it clear it's about the collective and if the collective is good then the individual is also good because it works like that in a team sport."
A win on Wednesday night will take Rangers to within two points of league leaders Celtic with a game in hand. Kick off is at 7.45pm.