Supporters jeer Rangers after defeat by Kilmarnock widens gap in Premiership title race
Philippe Clement promised jeering Rangers fans he will keep striving for improvements after his side slumped to a defeat against Kilmarnock that leaves them six points adrift of leaders Celtic and Aberdeen.
Marley Watkins’ late strike sealed another famous victory over the Old Firm for Derek McInnes’ team, whose positive approach was in stark contrast to a visiting side looking well off the pace as they fell to a second league defeat in eight matches.
The large travelling support made their feelings known about turbulence off the field as they unveiled a series of banners calling for an end to ‘mismanagement of Rangers’ — and then jeered the players as they sheepishly made their way over to salute them at the end of the match.
Clement conceded the supporters were within their rights to air their anger and frustration while admitting his players had not adapted adequately to the conditions or their opponents, creating just one first-half chance of note and then shipping a soft goal after a defensive mix-up.
The Belgian, though, also underlined the ‘potential’ of his squad and believes Rangers are still making positive strides despite their league position.
‘It’s normal that the fans are unhappy,’ said the manager, who was marking the first anniversary of his time in charge. ‘There’s not one person in the staff or one (player) who was happy after this game, after losing.
Hamza Igamane, James Tavernier and John Souttar had to face jeering supporters at full-time
Philippe Clement insists there is plenty of potential in the Rangers team who lost at Rugby Park
Marley Watkins celebrates scoring the late winner for a Kilmarnock side who battled till the end
‘The players showed respect towards the fans, the fans showed what they felt about the results, and that’s a normal thing. So it’s about getting back the results on the pitch, that’s the main thing to do, and then the fans get behind you.
‘We need to focus on ourselves, on the team, on the players, on the new players coming in, to get them at their best level, on the players who were here, to get to their best level also, and to play better than we did today.
‘I think the fans’ anger has to do with a lot of things (off the pitch). I will stay focused on the sporting side of things to get the best out of this squad. To do that in one transfer window was impossible with the finances at this moment.
‘We’re going to work really hard with this squad, and there is a lot of potential there. Much more potential than people see, maybe for the moment. So it’s about working hard with them and making them better.
‘And, for sure, getting to know each other on the field in all different circumstances. It’s a different kind of game to play at Kilmarnock today than to play internationals over the last couple of weeks.’
Despite the draw between Celtic and Aberdeen on Saturday providing his team with a great opportunity, Clement insisted he was not focusing on the gap between Rangers and the top two, believing there is still sufficient time to claw it back.
‘There’s no concern because we need to be focused on ourselves,’ he added. ‘If you look at the gap all the time, you forget to do what you have to do. It’s about us, we need to win games.
‘We have 30 games to go, so it’s always disappointing to lose points because we want to win all the games. So we’re focused on that. The only thing that’s important is about winning our own games. That (is what) we need to do and to focus on that and to get a good vibe again.’
Rangers fans unveiled a series of banners calling for an end to mismanagement of the Ibrox club
Clement also made ‘no excuses’ for the result and admitted that his players simply hadn’t been good enough, especially in the opening period.
He added: ‘You need to win more duels, which we didn’t do enough in the first half. The second half was much better. That’s one part. Not only with fights do you win these kinds of games. You need to do much more things than only fight.
‘So all credit to Kilmarnock in the way they do it, and that’s why they have also a really good record at home on the pitch here in these circumstances. But we need to adapt. There’s no excuse for us.’
For McInnes, there was joy at seeing his players battle all the way to the final whistle, just a fortnight after watching them score three late goals to overturn a 2-0 deficit to Dundee.
‘For me, it illustrates fitness, it illustrates the strength of the squad,’ said the Kilmarnock manager. ‘It also illustrates a lot of time a real determination. I don’t think any of my players at any point settled for 0-0. That wouldn’t have been the worst result, getting a clean sheet, and you would have taken positives from the performance. Thankfully, we managed to get the win.’
McInnes admitted his players were recovering from a poor start to the season when they struggled to cope with both domestic and European demands. ‘It’s one of the trade-offs of playing in Europe competitively,’ he said. ‘We’re well up and running. The players physically are in a good place.’
