Philip Clement defended his injury record at Rangers by examining his depleted squad ahead of the game against Dundee live on Sky Sports.
When the Belgian took over as head coach in October 2023, he promised to improve the form and reach of the squad he inherited from previous manager Michael Beale.
However, Rangers are once again short on numbers and particularly bare in defensive options ahead of their trip to Tayside.
Thursday, January 9 at 7:15 p.m
Start: 20:00
Captain James Tavernier remains out alongside John Sauttar (groin) and Neraisho Casanvirjo (knee), Jack Butland (foot) and Leon Balogun, while midfielder Tom Lawrence is still out.
Utility man Dujon Sterling is a doubt after the weekend’s 3-3 draw with Hibernian left Rangers 13 points adrift of Premier League leaders Celtic.
“It’s a completely different situation,” said Clement, who will also be without suspended midfielder Nicholas Ruskin against Tony Doherty’s side.
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Rangers manager Philip Clement has told Sky Sports News that there are various reasons for their poor away form in the Scottish Premiership this season.
“Last season we had big periods, 10/12, players were out.
“Now we have four. Well, Jack. It’s not an accident. And some of the others are contact injuries.
“The hard part is that it’s all in one position.
“So it’s a challenge for every club in the world. You can’t predict that and you can’t have seven central defenders in your team.
“So this season we’ve never been in a situation where we’ve had 12 injuries at the same time and the club has also worked really hard to strengthen some departments.
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Watch Scottish Premier League highlights from Hibernian v Rangers
“So we’ve got a really good physio with Kevin (Bain) from Aberdeen that we’ve made changes in the performance department.
“So, there are really good steps in that direction, so we can’t compare with the situation in the last season.
“It’s about finding solutions and that’s what we’ve been doing for the last two weeks.
“For example, putting Ridvan Yilmaz at right-back and he’s doing a really good job there.
“So we have to be creative, have a good level with the defense and not concede the goals we conceded against Hibs in the two spot-kicks.
“I have to make a choice about that, about this game as well, because that’s also one of Dundee’s strengths.”
