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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

Ben Davies told to 'believe in himself' by Rangers boss Clement

Ben Davies has revealed new Rangers boss Philippe Clement has urged him to believe in himself at Ibrox.

The centre-back came back into the side for the goalless draw against Sparta Prague and put in a towering performance in the Europa League clash.

And while Davies is thrilled to have made a positive impression, the defender revealed Clement has been forthcoming in his praise and belief.

"That is important," said Davies of making a good first impression. "The manager has filled the players with confidence, and in the second half against Sparta we showed that a bit more. 

"On a personal note I’m happy to be back involved in the team and am most pleased about the fact we got a clean sheet."

And on his own discussions with Clement, Davies added: "He thinks I have a good passing range and he wants me to believe in myself a bit more. That’s probably the same for a few players.

"The early impression from training is that we like him.

"Thursday was another step in the right direction. That’s two decent performances in a row, the win last Saturday and the draw away from home in Europe is definitely something to build on.

"But it’s just one game at a time and we’ve got a massive game on Sunday now."

Davies came back into the side with an altered back-line as a left-back crisis forced Clement to switch to a back-three. But for the defender it was a perfect route back into the starting line-up.

"It’s been a bit of a stop-start season for me," he said. "I had a couple of injuries in the off-season and then the pre-season. I got myself into the team, then I was back out of it then back in again against Sparta.

"I knew Thursday was quite a big night for me. I needed to perform. I was quite happy with how I played - I could have done some things better but overall I’m happy to be back in the team and part of it again.

"I was happier that we moved to a back three. I’ve not played at left back for Rangers, apart from maybe a few minutes last year. Three or four minutes. I played left back for a number of years when I was first coming through but I’ve been a centre back ever since.

"The manager wanted balance on that side with my left foot, and if we had gone with a back four I would have turned up and done my best as well."

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