Clement provides key Rangers injury update after Hibs win as Gray claims visitors deserved 'at least' a point

Rangers manager Philippe Clement (Pic: Getty)Rangers manager Philippe Clement (Pic: Getty)
Rangers manager Philippe Clement (Pic: Getty) | Getty Images
Rangers were 1-0 winners over Hibs at Ibrox this afternoon and are now looking ahead to Lyon in the UEFA Europa League.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement has provided an update on the status of midfielder Mohamed Diomande after the Ivorian missed their 1-0 Scottish Premiership win over Hibs.

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Speaking after the match, which saw Tom Lawrence score the only goal, the Rangers gaffer said on Diomande: “I don't know yet but he's much better already. He got a knock on his knee on Thursday. He was not available to play but there's a big chance that he will be available for Thursday. That's what I count on. So nothing too much to worry about.”

The Belgian also discussed the kick off time of the match and his frustrations, adding: “In a lot of countries now, over the last couple of years, you look at fixtures and when they are played, which moments all over Europe or there are even teams where teams don't have to play when they have to play Europe like we had with Dynamo Kiev, for example.

“So you play today at 12 o'clock after a European trip where you come home around 2 o'clock at Auchenhowie [Rangers’ training complex]. So then you need to drive back home so players sleep, if they are lucky, around 4am. You have the next day training, you lose one night of sleep, you have one night of sleep and this one is also a short one because you need to wake up really early to be ready for the game.

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“So yes, I saw a few players - or several players or almost everybody who played on Thursday and even the guys who didn't play - that they were less fresh than in the last couple of weeks. It's normal. So it's important to take the three points and we had the best chances in this game. So that's what you want, to keep the clean sheet. Do I want better football? Yes for sure. Do the players want that? That also, yes for sure. And you want to see what you saw on Thursday.

“But it's important also in these moments when you are less fresh, when you are tired, to dig in, to get the results and the deserved results and to take the three points and then focus on Thursday. Defensively that's another clean sheet and proved vital today."

Meanwhile, Hibs boss David Gray also spoke after his sides defeat in Glasgow. The Edinburgh club’s gaffer believed his side were worth at least a point for their efforts.

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He said: “I have mixed emotions, and I said that to the players. I will never accept losing games of football, so I didn’t want them to be confused with my tone after the game, but there were large elements of the game I was proud of.

“We always knew it would be a tough start with Rangers coming back here after a positive result in Europe, 50,000 supporters here for their first league game back, and we prepared the players for that. I thought we dealt with the atmosphere well and reduced them to very little chances.

“The goal they scored was a wonder-strike and Josef (Bursik) made a really good save in the second half to keep it at 1-0. We created numerous chances and missed a penalty at a big stage in the game. The reaction after the penalty was excellent and I felt like Rangers were hanging on at the end of the game, which doesn’t happen very often here; that’s credit to everyone involved and the effort we put in.

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“We need to be a wee bit more clinical; I think we had 18 shots. We deserved at least a point, but I honestly believe if we got that goal, we’d have gone on to win the game.

“That work rate and effort is the minimum requirement and the standard we’ve now set. If we can take that into the rest of the season, then we’ll be in a good place for it. I’ve said for a number of weeks that the group is getting fitter, stronger, and better. You’ve seen that in the performance today, and that can give us a lot of confidence.”

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