Rangers fans change their tune as rousing classic rings out to mark Clement's Premiership pinnacle

It’s four months since Philippe Clement walked into Ibrox and found a club burning with flames of frustration and fury. Now having put out that inferno, the big Belgian’s job is to douse Celtic’s title ambitions once and for all.

It’s been a remarkable start to life in Glasgow for the former Club Brugge and Monaco gaffer. The shriek from the alarm bells that were set off when Michael Beale’s team found themselves seven points behind after just seven games has now been replaced by the sound of jubilant cheers.

“We shall not be moved,” roared the Rangers support in Perth on Sunday as they watched their team move two points ahead at the top. Frankly, anyone suggesting that kind of turnaround on that bleak day back in September when it looked like the Ibrox support were ready to torch the place to the ground would have needed their head checked. But Clement has managed to light a fire under this team and it is now the favourites to blaze a trail all the way to the title.

Key to that renewed faith has been the rapid improvement in the Ibrox individuals. Cyriel Dessers was ready to be written off as one of the club’s worst ever signings – but now the Nigerian is averaging a goal every other game under his new boss bagged 11 goals in 22 appearances.

John Lundstram, Ridvan Yilmaz and Todd Cantwell are regularly putting in the best performances of their Gers careers. And then you have skipper James Tavernier.

So often, the right-back was the man saddled with the scapegoat tag, with his eight-year tenure an excuse for some fans to lay the blame at so many failures over that period at his door. But no-one can deny the importance of his role in Rangers’ resurgence. Three assists in midweek against Ross County have been followed up by two penalties in Perth.

It’s now 19 for the season – matching his career best tally from the club’s 2021 title-winning campaign – and 120 in total for the club.

There are some fans who questioned whether the captain deserved his place in the club’s hall of fame. But Clement has never doubted his on-pitch leader’s worth.

“It’s crazy,” the manager said as he was informed of Tavernier’s latest milestone. “I don’t know if there ever was a defender scoring more goals in Scotland or Europe. He has a lot of quality in that but not only penalties, he’s scored important other goals like in the Viaplay Cup final, for example. And he is doing a really good defensive job because in the first place, he is a defender for me, not an attacking player.

“He is not busy with stats to play for himself but for the team like they all are. I am happy with Tav, he was the first player I talked with, that’s normal when you come into a building and you know the fire is going on.

“I wanted to see how to stop it as fast as possible so I wanted all the information, it’s normal to speak first with the captain. He was really open and honest about all things in the club, dressing room and himself also. He feels good also, there is a divided leadership with several players who take responsibility but they have a really good connection together.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement

“If you’re all alone you can be alone in the desert, now he has a few lieutenants around him that help also and are very influential. It’s important to have that.”

Tavernier had a new face in front of him yesterday as Mohamed Diomande marked his first league start with a sensational opener. And Clement expects the Ivory Coast Under-23 ace to play an even more vital role in the weeks ahead as he settles in following a January switch from Nordsjaelland

He said: “Dio can play in all three positions, we had a lot of talks with him about that. I also want to know players really well when they come into the building.

“I want players who are available for the team and don’t only come to play their own game or position. Dio can play three positions in midfield without a problem. It’s good for him of course to feel good directly in the team, it’s because of all the people around him.

“Connor Goldson, John Souttar and John Lundstram are speaking a lot with him, players in front who are available to receive the passes, it’s bout the connection together. He adapted really fast because the others are helping in that way really good.”

Clement admitted earlier this week that some of the Premiership’s pitches aren’t up to the right standard. But he was delighted with the way his team side-stepped trouble on a muddy McDiarmid surface. He said: ”It was a really strong performance today, for sure in these circumstances.

Rangers’ Mohammed Diomande (centre) celebrates

“It was not a surface where we can play our normal football, what we train every day, what the lads have shown the past weeks and months. But we had to adapt, and the team is ready for that now. We had a few practice games in that way, like Dumbarton, St Mirren, in really difficult circumstances and they understand now they need to play a different kind of football in those moments if you have that kind of surface and we did it in a really good way today.

“We had a dominant performance, there was never a doubt in the game. I think we didn’t have a shot on target against us. We scored three goals and it could have been more – it’s really pleasing.

“Starting with 11 players but all the guys who came in, they gave the team extra energy and quality. You see the team growing. The new players came in and got extra minutes and showed quality.

“Dio was the man of the match today, Oscar Cortes was it last week. Those are really important things and they are settling in really fast. The dressing-room is a really nice environment to come into and all the boys are helping the new guys to settle fast.”