Rangers manager Philippe Clement last night ordered his players to get their minds on the job for the Champions League crunch with Dynamo Kyiv — after slaughtering their first-half performance in yesterday’s season-opening draw at Tynecastle.
Clement was deeply unhappy with his side’s lack of intensity and bravery in the first 45 against Hearts and knows they cannot start so slowly again when they face up to Dynamo in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie in the Polish city of Lublin on Tuesday night.
‘I was not satisfied with the first half, the first half-hour for sure,’ said the Belgian, who saw on-loan Colombian Oscar Cortes limp off at the start of the second half and is now rated a doubt.
‘We lacked intensity in the duels. There were a lot of long balls where we didn’t win the first duel, also not the second duel, also not the third duel. Because of that, we came under pressure.
‘With the ball, we were not calm enough, not brave enough to do the right things and be in the right positions like we want. So, it was important to have 15 minutes during half-time to put things straight, show them where we were going wrong and change that.
Manager Philippe Clement was unhappy with Rangers' intensity at Tynecastle
Rangers defender John Souttar challenges Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland
Rangers winger Oscar Cortes was taken off early in the second half after injuring his knee
‘It changed a lot in the second half. We took control of the game and played better football. We had good chances also and we dominated the second half.
‘I expect that to happen during the game, and that’s why we need experience on the pitch to guide things. Those are things to work on for the future.
‘I think it was a fair result. The first half was for Hearts, the second half was for us.
‘Tuesday is again a massive game, an important game against a team who could rest this weekend to be fresh on Tuesday. We need to put all our focus on that.’
Clement left out new signing Robin Propper as a result of a lack of training with the rest of the first team, but has not ruled out throwing him into the Dynamo match.
He has been unable, though, to offer a definitive view on Cortes’ condition ahead of travelling to Poland.
‘I cannot say at themoment,’ stated Clement (pictured). ‘He fell down in a duel in a bad way in the first half and hurt his knee. But he said — and he was also tested by the doctor — that he was fine.
‘With his first sprint, he felt too much pain, so we had to take him off. But it’s experience for a young player also. Knowing your body, what is pain, what you can do and what you cannot do.
‘You saw with the other signing (Vaclav Cerny) coming on that he made a direct impact on the game but he comes out of four weeks of holiday after the Euros. He has trained just three times with us. He is not in top shape.
‘For sure, we are going to become better. Robin was also with the squad today but, if you don’t train with the team, you cannot play.’
Asked if Propper and Cerny could start against Dynamo, Clement replied: ‘It is too early to ask this question now. I need to see how players come out of this game, how do they recover before Tuesday in such a short time.
‘That is why Kyiv also do not play this weekend, for example. We need to see to make the right decisions for that game and then the game that comes after and the week after. We need to make smart rotations.
‘I am never happy. I always want more. I want better. I want to improve things. I would have loved to win today. We were really close but we could have lost this game also.
‘I don’t think we could have done much more work in the last couple of weeks in training to be much better than we were today but we still have a way to go and we will improve in the next couple of weeks and the next couple of months and become stronger and stronger.’
Hearts manager Steven Naismith, meanwhile, felt his side should have come out of yesterday’s clash with the spoils.
‘It was an entertaining game for a 0-0. I know the headlines will all be “Rangers have dropped points” but I think we should have won the game,’ said Naismith, who signed Malachi Boateng pre-match and gave him a late run-out as a substitute.
Hearts full-back James Penrice has a shot on target early in the 0-0 draw at Tynecastle
Hearts boss Steven Naismith gives instructions to substitute Blair Spittal
Rangers' new signing Vaclav Cerny takes the ball past Hearts midfielder Barrie McKay
‘We created good chances, had really good moments, had more of them. First half, our performance was really good.
‘They then need to change what they are doing to try and get a foothold in the game and they did to a point, but it was all in front of us, never really caused us too many problems.
‘We played so well in the first half, had so much control all that was really missing was the finishing touches. We will take confidence from the performance. It is a pleasing start to the season. We have competition for places and that is the standard we want to drive.’
New signing Yan Dhanda claimed for a penalty on 31 minutes when a cross from the right struck Connor Barron’s arm, but, having been made aware of new guidance for this season by the SFA’s head of referees Willie Collum, Naismith had no complaints.
‘I don’t think it’s a penalty, if I’m honest,’ he said. ‘Last season, there was a big debate. Willie and the referees and the league have done a lot to clear things up and have a conscious effort to stop you guys asking that question to write about it.
‘People will say it’s unnatural (movement) but, if you’ve played the game, there isn’t much he can do, so I don’t think it’s a penalty.
‘Since I’ve been in charge, the biggest thing we need is consistency. Inconsistency has been highlighted and recognised by the referees and everybody involved.’