Philippe Clement focuses on Rangers’ performance ahead of their Europa League match against Manchester United, dismissing outside noise.
Glasgow: Rangers manager Philippe Clement is brushing off the drama surrounding Manchester United. He’s gearing up to challenge Ruben Amorim in the Europa League.
Even with their own struggles this season, including a rough patch of just two wins in eight games, Rangers are heading to Old Trafford on a three-match winning streak. Meanwhile, United is struggling in 13th place in the Premier League, with only four wins in their last 12 matches. Amorim even called them “the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United,” though he later took that back.
Clement isn’t fazed by the media buzz around United. He’s focused on helping Rangers break their long-standing away win drought against English teams in Europe. Their last win was back in 1992 against Leeds in a Champions League qualifier. He said, “The most important thing for my group is to be focused on ourselves and not all the noise around them.”
He emphasized that it’s about showing their qualities on the pitch. Amorim, during his press conference, expressed understanding for Clement’s earlier struggles, saying he could “feel the pain” of the Rangers manager. But Clement isn’t worried about the other team’s confidence levels. He pointed out that they’ve faced similar doubts before and proved themselves in crucial moments.
Rangers are just one point behind United in the Europa League standings and want to avoid the play-off stage. They’ve had a tough time traveling to their latest match due to a defensive crisis, with several players unavailable for European games. While former United players Tom Lawrence and Jack Butland are back in training, others like Dujon Sterling and Ianis Hagi are sidelined, and Mohamed Diomande is suspended.
Clement acknowledged the challenges, saying they’ll miss about eight players who could have started. But he believes the team can pull together and keep getting results like they have in recent months. “It’s not a new situation,” he added.
