CAPTAIN of Club Brugge for a decade, Philippe Clement has a better understanding than most of how it feels to be James Tavernier.
The Englishman has made 467 Rangers appearances, scoring 125 goals. The highest scoring defender in British football, he has won the Scottish
Premiership, Scottish Cup and League Cup and led the Rangers team out at the 2022 Europa League final.
In any other footballing landscape that would be a record to cherish. In a city where rivals Celtic have won five domestic Trebles in eight years, Tavernier is now regarded as a poster boy for failure.
After the latest defeat to Celtic two weeks ago, images emerged on social media of one Rangers supporter abusing the skipper outside Ibrox.
Despite the suggestions that he’d had enough he stayed put, Clement insisting there was never any question of his on-field lieutenant performing a midnight flit before the Turkish transfer window closed last night. Despite intense speculation the Belgian now says there were no offers.
Phillipe Clement has offered his full support to Rangers captain James Tavernier
The defender is hoping to get back to top form after enduring a shaky start to the season
He was roundly criticised by Rangers supporters after last month's defeat to Celtic
‘I don’t know what is real about all these rumours,’ shrugs Clement. ‘There were no offers in the club in that way.
‘So he’s been for sure the player in Scotland. And for me, in all my career, who made so many transfers already without anything. That’s for sure.
‘In eight months, I’ve never seen a player making so many transfers. Because I read so many times that he was going to go there and there and there.
‘And he’s still here and never came to my office saying “I want to go”.
‘And there was never an offer in that way towards the club. So let’s not talk too much about rumours.'
Forthcoming on the supporter abuse which followed the defeat to Celtic, Clement himself was forced to explain himself en route to the car park after the game.
Supporters seemed less concerned with possession stats and shots on target than the manager, preferring to focus on a performance and scoreline which left them five points adrift of Celtic. By 5pm this evening the gap could be up to eight and, for players like Tavernier, these are difficult times to be a Rangers player.
Asked how his captain had reacted to the abuse of one supporter spilling over, Clement praised Tavernier for a ‘mature’ response and shared his own experience of life as a club figurehead with his captain.
Tavernier couldn't lead his side to the Champions League after suffering defeat to Dynamo Kyiv
Tavernier has been linked with a move away but no bids have been received as of yet
‘We talked about (what happened). It’s not a nice thing. If you’re a captain, you’re a symbol of a team. And people see you that way.
‘I had the same experiences before in Brugge. And I was there 10 years like Tav.
‘In the moments when it’s really good, it’s really nice to be captain. And in moments when the team doesn’t perform then it’s not — but it’s not only about you.
‘It’s about the team. And you don’t reach the expectations of the fans at that moment.
‘You’re the first one that they talk to or that they yell to at that moment.
‘So I had these moments also in my career. It’s part of being captain.
'And I have to say he takes it really mature. And he’s very motivated to get really good results in the next couple of months. And to get the love back of everybody in the club. The love is from a lot of people still there.
‘And some people were very, very disappointed after the Celtic game. Which we can understand. Because we were also.
‘It’s easy to run away from your responsibility. He totally doesn’t do that. But he doesn’t need it also to have a fuel and motivation. So it’s somewhere in between.’
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In the age of the digital phone every incident is magnified. A light is shone on events which used to slide under the public radar and high profile footballers are subjected to a savage scrutiny. Images showed Tavernier reacting to the grief from his abuser, but restraining himself from taking the matter further.
The flip side of the big salary and the top of the range car, Clement acknowledges that the customer pays his money and takes his choice. These incidents now come with the territory.
‘It’s a thing of society,’ added the Belgian. ‘It’s not only a Rangers thing. It’s in society. It’s all over the world like that.
‘And the captain and the manager are the symbols of that. And they get the most stick in those moments. So that’s part of our job and our life.
‘Not only here. In a lot of teams in the world. Is it a nice thing? Is it a good thing? Is it a thing you love? No, totally not. But it’s a world we live in.’
One of the criticisms levelled at Tavernier, in particular, is an absence of mental strength. An inability to stand up and be counted when the heat intensifies. Clement believes that’s unfair, making the point that no one could be a captain of Rangers for five minutes if they were mentally weak.
In adversity — and he has seen plenty in recent years — Tavernier has continued to show and has never gone looking for a move, despite persistent links with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
‘It’s easy to be a captain in the moments that you win or when the club, everything goes really well, to be a symbol of that,’ added Clement.
‘The real captains are the ones who stand in front of the ship and to keep everything in a good way in the moment that it’s difficult. So that’s what he’s been doing.
‘He’s been focusing on himself, on the team. Training really hard. Playing in this Motherwell game also with the right mentality.
'Helping the new guys in their integration here. Helping the young guys. So I didn’t see a difference in that.’