Rangers boss Philippe Clement doesn’t believe his side were ‘underdogs’ heading into the last Glasgow derby clash against Celtic.
The city arch-rivals met at Parkhead on December 30 for the traditional Ne’er Day clash and it was Celtic who deservedly came out on top.
Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi were the scorers on the day as James Tavernier’s late free-kick was merely a consolation. It was a bitter blow for Rangers in the title race and Clement was visibly livid at full-time.
Before the match, Celtic were five points clear of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a superior goal difference and more goals scored than their rivals [Fitbastats].
Clement’s side had been in good form up until the game but heading to Celtic Park to get a result was always going to be a monumental challenge.
But almost two months on since the 2-1 Celtic triumph, Clement believes Rangers were NOT the underdogs going into that derby and thinks both sides were on a level playing field.
He made the claim at his press conference on Friday as Rangers prepare to face Hearts at home. The Europa League last 16 draw had just been made and the Ibrox side will face Portuguese giants Benfica.
Clement could admit that Rangers will be underdogs for the two-legged tussle but thinks it’ll be the first time his side are not favourites going into a game under his stewardship.
In essence, he couldn’t bring himself to admit that Rangers were the slight underdogs heading into the last Glasgow derby.
Philippe Clement delivers Celtic assertion
Philippe Clement offered his reaction to drawing Benfica in the Europa League, saying: “It’s a very, very good team. I think it will be the first game when I’m here that we will be underdogs in a game, that’s the reality.
“But it doesn’t mean that we cannot qualify. We believe in our qualities and I believe with the mentality that’s in this group now that we can beat anybody. But we need to be at our top, top performances and you need to have luck also in key moments in the game.
“European nights are important for the statue of the club but you need to be realistic and look at your budget, the value of the squad and compare that.
“In that way, Benfica are quite in front of us but I think there’s a really special story developing here in the building and there’s a lot of motivation and hunger and desire. With that we can do really amazing things.”
The Belgian was then asked to clarify his ‘underdogs’ comment and whether he was referring to Europe or in all competitions. He responded: “No, in general. In all the games we’ve played until now.
“I don’t see us as underdogs against Celtic. For me we are two teams at a similar level competing so that’s different than with Benfica.”
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