Philippe Clement has told Cyriel Dessers he needs to up his game to earn his spot back in Rangers' starting line-up.
Hamza Igamane bagged a double as the Ibrox side claimed a famous 4-1 victory over OGC Nice in the south of France this evening.
That result has Rangers up to eighth in the Europa League after five games, with the Glasgow giants now in a promising position to qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition.
Fit-again Danilo - who is not registered in the club's European squad - replaced Dessers during the 1-1 draw with Dundee United at the weekend.
"I don't want to see players in satisfactory mode, they can be happy after the game." Philippe Clement wants his Rangers side to build on their momentum going into the weekend after a dominant performance against Nice 👏 🎙 @Becky_Ives_ | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/5zcOWRTt82
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 28, 2024
And it seems that Clement is pleased to have options for the solitary striker position in the team again, having relied on Dessers - who missed a sitter during his time on the pitch - for the past few months.
"Yeah, for sure," the Belgian responded when asked if the Nigerian forward had to up his game to get his place back in the starting XI. "So, there will be competition between them.
"It's about seeing who is in the best shape at one moment.
"That's never a decision for weeks or months, that's showing it game by game."
On Igamane specifically, he said: "He came in with an injury and he missed all of the preparation.
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"He doesn't have experience at this level. We're working hard with him, all of the staff, to make him physically stronger. He's made a really big progression in that way, but also tactically, doing the right things for the team.
"That's why I gave him the chance today because I saw all of these things getting better and better in training.
"It's my job to give these chances at this stage to see what players can bring.
"He showed what I expected, but you never know with young players.
"You need characters like that to play for Rangers."
It's now onto Sunday lunchtime in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers next.
They travel to Perth to take on St Johnstone in the league, with domestic form needing to be taken care of as well as European matters.
Clement said: "We need to win. That's clear. We need to win and perform well.
"But not also on Sunday, on Wednesday and then the weekend again.
"I don't want to see players who are in satisfaction mode.
"They can be happy after the game, but I want to see hungry players who have desire to get better and better.
"It's what I've seen until now but we made some mistakes along the way with young and new players.
"We will grow to a better level together domestically."
