Under-fire Philippe Clement says first Old Firm win was for Rangers not himself
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Philippe Clement insists his long-awaited first win over Celtic was for his Rangers side and not for his own benefit. The convincing 3-0 William Hill Premiership victory over their city rivals at Ibrox was the Belgian’s maiden Old Firm triumph in seven attempts since becoming Gers boss in October 2023 and it reduced the gap to the league leaders to 11 points.
Rangers had some key players missing including skipper James Tavernier, Leon Balogun and Jack Butland – Liam Kelly took over in goal for his first Old Firm game – but goals from Ianis Hagi, Robin Propper and substitute Danilo was the perfect response to last month’s Premier Sports Cup final penalty shoot-out defeat to Celtic.
However, Clement, under intense pressure in recent weeks as Rangers’ title hopes slipped away, was focused only on the team. He said: “I’m pleased for the team, I told you guys (media) already a few times, I’m not here for myself. “The only thing is that you guys don’t need to start anymore about never winning an Old Firm, so that’s done.
“So, very pleased that they (players) got the reward that they deserve. They didn’t get it in this League Cup final, and that was a harsh one. I'm very pleased that everybody from the outside can see all the hard work that the players have been doing the last couple of months.
“A cruel one, what we talked about. Today they got it. They didn’t get it, they grabbed it. “And that’s what I want to see. So it was a well-deserved victory. It was a very strong collective victory with some players playing out of position also, but doing a very good job.
