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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Robbie Hanratty

'Clearly not good enough': Clement laments Rangers lack of bravery in league opener

Philippe Clement was left raging at Rangers start against Heart of Midlothian this afternoon. 

Clement watched his side get dominated for large spells during the opening 30 minutes, with Hearts creating the bulk of the early chances. 

The Rangers manager has repeatedly mentioned the words "rebuild" and "transition" throughout pre-season after a disappointing end to the 2023/24 campaign, yet there was only one player that began the match that had not featured in a league game for the club before. 

The Light Blues were more competitive in the second half but ultimately dropped two points on the road in their maiden Scottish Premiership fixture of the new campaign.

And speaking to BBC Scotland after the match, Clement lamented some stars bravery and questioned their ability to take advice on board earlier. 

Asked what he learned from his squad following the Tynecastle stalemate, he said: "Not too much. I expected some to be much braver in the first half-hour of the game, in the duels and on the ball. So that was clearly not good enough." 


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The Rangers boss conceded that their hosts edged the first half but he was more content with his teams display beyond the restart, while expressing his overall disappointment at the result. 

"I'm never content with a point because I always want to win," Clement confessed. "But it's a fair result at the end.

"I think we didn't play a good first half, for sure the first half-hour. After we reacted better and when we can speak about things at half-time and show things, it was a much, much better second half. 

"But the team needs to recognise these things on the pitch already faster. So, those are working points.

"That's normal in the rebuild that we are doing, and then you see in the second half, we play more of our normal game but then you need to finish off the chances you get. 

"It was first half for Hearts and second half for us, so it's a fair result at the end." 

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