Clement dropped players then points but the Rangers manager insists he’s been making ‘sensible’ decisions over team selection

Philippe Clement has redoubled his faith in sports science for team selection after Rangers’ festive disaster.

The Ibrox boss initially rested Danilo for the Boxing Day match against St Mirren, with star midfielder Nicolas Raskin also kept in reserve to prevent him getting the booking that would see him suspended for Thursday’s match with Celtic.

After losing that match 2-1, the Belgian named Hamza Igamane and Vaclav Cerny on the bench for Sunday’s match at Motherwell.

At half-time the pair played a key role in Rangers coming from two goals down to draw, with the young Moroccan scoring twice.

But as the gap with Celtic widened to fourteen points in four days, Clement was widely criticized for not starting crucial games with his strongest team.

However, the Rangers boss was unrepentant yesterday and was adamant he had no choice but to manage his players’ minutes, insisting these were ‘sensible’ decisions.

‘If you’re not an ex-player or ex-manager, it might be less understandable that way. It’s very simple,” he said.

‘Can you tell me one team in the world where a player has played 90 minutes in every match this season and has completed international duties?

Rangers skipper James Tavernier has been ruled out of Thursday’s Old Firm derby

‘There isn’t one. That’s because of the number of games and also because of the difference between 15, 20, 30 years ago and the intensity of the game now. It’s normal.

‘I tried to explain it before the match. Maybe I didn’t do a good enough job.

‘Apparently that’s why we drew the game against Motherwell. That is not the case.

‘And we might have lost more points in the coming months if Václav and Hamza had played or tried to play 90 minutes and they had been injured for two, three months.

‘With Hamza it is also someone who comes from a competition where he has never played at this pace.

‘He has to deal with that and is making enormous progress in a short time. So that’s very positive.

‘But we have a department specifically for that. These people are paid to check the players on a daily basis. It’s not just that. We speak to the players every day.

‘So it was the only sensible decision we could make for this match.

‘Would I like to start every match with them the way they are currently playing? Yes, of course I would like to do that.

“So I’m not stupid not to do that. It is in the interest of the club, the team and the players themselves.’

‘People sometimes draw the conclusion that the athletic department makes the decisions about the team. Moreover, it is not the case at all. It’s not like I follow everything to the letter.’

James Tavernier will miss the match against Celtic after being ruled out for several weeks due to a muscle injury, with Clement giving Leon Balogun an outside chance of making the derby.

“We did a scan and there is obvious damage, which means he will be out for a few weeks,” he said of his captain.

Meanwhile, Rangers will pay Aberdeen a £600,000 fee for midfielder Connor Barron after an SPFL tribunal finalized the details of his transfer to Ibrox.

The 22-year-old midfielder signed a four-year contract at Ibrox in June after his contract at Pittodrie expired.

The two clubs were unable to agree on a development fee for the player who had been with the Dons since he was eight, with the case being referred to the SPFL tribunal.

Under SPFL rules, neither club has the right to appeal.

Barron has made 28 appearances in all competitions for Clement’s side this season.