The rousing half-time Rangers message Clement told his players as team talk sparks Motherwell comeback

Philippe Clement has revealed what he said to his struggling Rangers squad at half-time that sparked a spirited second half comeback against Motherwell.

The Ibrox side were booed off by their furious fanbase as they trudged down the tunnel at the interval trailing the Steelmen 1-0 with the Belgian facing up to the most important 45 minutes of his Gers reign.

But his players delivered with goals from Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami turning the game on its head to ensure the holders booked their place in next month’s final against Old Firm rivals Celtic.

Clement was thrilled with the way his side responded to his half-time message and hopes supporters can see progress is being made.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, he said: “It is all respect to Motherwell. They were more fresh in the first half and they got more tired in the second half. It’s also one part of the story. But I told them to dig in and to do what they’ve been doing a lot last season, every time to fight for every metre on the pitch in every situation, even if things don’t go our way.

“That’s the moment to dig in more and to do more, and that’s what they did second half. It’s a good reference for this new group now to recognise this situation. In football, everything doesn’t fall on your side all the time, you need to dig in and you need to fight really hard to get the result that you want. That is what we need to do the next week’s and month’s every time.

“I hope the fans will have seen this team wants to fight, and of course we know how many points we are behind in the league. It’s about every time giving our maximum with all the team together to get the results. The next week’s and month’s we will become better. You can see this is a team that wants to keep on fighting.

“It’s an important victory. Before we had good games in moments when we’ve scored the first goal and things have went our side. This is the reference I wanted to see in moments when things go against you then to fight back because that’s a mentality I want to see all the time.”