Philippe Clement emphasizes that Sunday’s Old Firm derby will not be definitive in the title race, emphasizing, “I don’t want mathematicians in my dressing room.”
The Rangers manager expresses his enthusiasm and acknowledges that the match at home against Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic is significant, referring to it as a “six-point game.”
However, he advises against his players becoming preoccupied with the prospect of securing the top position with a game in hand.
“We have another Old Firm game in a few weeks also, so it’s not yet a decisive game,” Clement said.
“Whoever wins is not the champion. I don’t want mathematicians in my dressing room – I want passionate players who give their best every day for their team and that’s what I’ve been seeing.”
Since losing 2-1 to the reigning champions on 30 December, Rangers’ only domestic slip-up was a shock home defeat against Motherwell last month.
“After that Old Firm game we’ve had 11 games and taken 30 points out of 33, and we could have had more against Motherwell,” Clement said.
“We’ve scored more goals than Celtic and conceded less since then. That’s really good consistency, but it’s not a guarantee of anything. It is a big step forward.”
Clement does not think there is any difference in his side’s mentality compared to that loss at Celtic Park.
“The team was psychologically ready last time,” he stressed. “We didn’t grab the moments and they did.
“There’s more consistency, better results, a bigger squad, more people ready to do the job, so I see my team growing month by month and this is the next challenge.”
Clement has “a lot of confidence” in his squad – and that the fans will remain behind the team even if they fall behind on Sunday.
“They see we are a team who can change things very quickly,” he added.
“I am not nervous. I’m looking forward to it. This is something you need to embrace – not to be nervous about.”