Philippe Clement has doubled down on his reliance on sports science for team selection following Rangers’ festive disaster.
The Ibrox boss initially rested Danilo for the Boxing Day clash against St Mirren and star midfielder Nicolas Raskin was also kept in reserve to avoid him receiving the booking that would have seen him suspended for Thursday’s clash against Celtic .
After losing that match 2-1, the Belgian benched Hamza Igamane and Vaclav Cerny for Sunday’s match at Motherwell.
Introduced at half-time, the pair played a decisive role in helping Rangers come back from two goals down and draw level with the young Moroccan scoring twice.
But with the gap to Celtic extending to 14 points in four days, Clement was heavily criticized for not starting vital games with his strongest team.
However, yesterday without regret, the Rangers boss insisted he had no choice but to manage his players’ playing time, insisting they were “sensible” decisions.
“If you’re not a former player or a former coach, maybe it’s less understandable in that sense. It’s very simple,” he said.
‘Can you tell me a team in the world where a player played this season, every game, 90 minutes and played international duty?
Philippe Clement defended his decision to rest key players during the holidays
Rangers captain James Tavernier has been ruled out of Thursday’s Old Firm derby.
‘There is none. That’s because of the number of games and also the difference between 15, 20, 30 years ago and the intensity of the game now. It’s something normal.
‘I tried to explain it to him before the game. Maybe I didn’t do it well enough.
—Apparently, that’s the reason we tied the game against Motherwell. It is not the case.
“And maybe we would have lost more points in the following months if Václav and Hamza played, or tried to play, 90 minutes and were injured for two or three months.
“With Hamza, he is also someone who comes from a league where he never played at this pace.
“He’s dealing with it and taking huge steps forward in a very short time.” That’s very positive.
‘But we have a special department for that. These people are paid to check on players every day. It’s not just that. We talk to the players every day.
“So, it was the only sensible decision that could be made for this game.
‘Would I love to start every game with them like they’re playing right now? Yes, of course I would love to do that.
‘So, I’m not stupid for not doing that. “It is for the benefit of the club, the team and the players themselves.”
‘People sometimes conclude that the athletic department makes decisions about the team. Furthermore, it is not entirely the case. It’s not that I follow everything to the letter.’
James Tavernier will miss the Celtic game after being ruled out for several weeks with a muscle injury and Clement gave Leon Balogun a slim chance of making the derby.
“We’ve had a scan on him and there’s clear damage that means he’ll be out for a few weeks,” he said of his captain.
Meanwhile, Rangers will pay Aberdeen a £600,000 fee for midfielder Connor Barron after an SPFL tribunal finalized details of his transfer to Ibrox.
The midfielder, 22, signed a four-year deal with Ibrox in June after his Pittodrie contract expired.
The two clubs were unable to agree on a development fee for the player who had been with the Dons since the age of eight, and the matter went to the SPFL tribunal.
According to SPFL regulations, no club has the right to appeal.
Barron has made 28 appearances in all competitions for Clement’s side this season.