Rangers to play match this week amid international break as important fringe stars plan uncovered
Philippe Clement revealed after Sunday’s 1-0 win over Hearts that a number of Rangers fringe players will feature in a midweek friendly
Rangers manager Philippe Clement has revealed a number of fringe players will take part in a midweek bounce game against an unnamed club to ensure they are all up to speed for a testing run of fixtures.
The Ibrox side, who remained nine points behind co-leaders Celtic and Aberdeen at the top of the Premiership following the weekend’s results, are scheduled to play competitive games almost every three days over the winter months following the international break.
Sunday’s 1-0 league win over Hearts did little to lift the mood around the club’s fanbase, with Clement’s men failing to build on Cyriel Dessers’ early sixth minute strike after putting in another laboured performance.
Now the Belgian boss has outlined his plan for the 10-day break centered around the players who have had less game time so far this season. The likes of Ianis Hagi, Kieran Dowell, Hamza Igamane and Danilo are all expected to feature in a friendly this week, with Clement desperate to have a fully fit squad to select from over the festive period.
“I'm happy to have Dani back,” Clement stated in his post-match press conference on Sunday, after the Brazilian striker impressed during his 15-minute cameo appearance from off the bench against the Jambos. “He's been out long. He showed a lot of quality also in the first weeks when I came here at Rangers.
“He scored good goals. He was important for the team. And the more, like I said, the more I can make rotation in the squad, the better we will get because we have now this short break for the internationals.
“Not for the rest, yes. For the guys who played less minutes, they will have a friendly game this week also. But after that, it will be three months of every three days game.
“So that's going to be a massive period where we're going to need all the players at their best because everybody who shows the good quality will get their minutes along the way. With that massive amount of games, we need to manage that well.”