Joe McConnell
Philippe Clement evoked the spirit of Manchester United’s glory year of 1999 as he sought to lift Rangers’ players from Champions League disappointment.
Dynamo Kiev’s 2-0 defeat in the third qualifying round second leg at Hampden Park on Tuesday night relegated the Ibrox club to the less prestigious and lucrative Europa League.
Gers manager Clement described referee Marco Guida’s decision to give Jefte a second yellow card for an aerial challenge on Oleksandr Karavayev as “the worst decision I have seen in more than 30 years of football” but now faces his players preparing for Saturday’s League Cup last-16 clash with St Johnstone.
And in doing so, the Belgian referenced United’s historic treble season, during which they won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in 10 days 25 years ago.
“They were really down after the game and the day after, but that’s part of football history,” said the former Monaco coach, who revealed that left-back Ridvan Yilmaz will be out for four to six weeks after being carried off on a stretcher on Tuesday night with a thigh injury.
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Rangers manager Philippe Clement admits a delay in player sales is hampering his plans to add new players to the squad
“There are moments like this, but it’s even worse when you play a terrible game and then you go out.
“It wasn’t like that. So there were circumstances and I don’t want to go into the details again, but it was clear to everyone around the world.
“I get so many messages from all over the world about this red card. So it was clear to everyone and it changed the game.
“But as I said, after the match you can’t go back. UEFA will never say ‘OK, we’ll replay the match’.
“So it’s done, it’s over and it’s our job, it’s my responsibility, but certainly also the players’, to react in the next game and win it.
“This is football. This is part of Rangers’ history and this is part of every club in the world.
Rangers’ Jefte pleads not guilty after red card
“And a few months ago I saw this documentary ’99’ about Man U.
“I was thinking about it the day after our game. So they (United) were really down that first game. Losing the Charity Shield to Arsenal 3-0, not touching the ball, or the feeling of not touching the ball.
“But then they reacted as a team with a lot of young players who had to learn and with several very important players like Roy Keane leading them.
“Here’s what we need to do in the coming weeks, in the coming months, to make history better and better.
“And that’s what I’ve seen in the last three weeks: the team is getting better and better.”
Clement will not seek a replacement for Yilmaz outside of Ibrox, who joins midfielder Nicolas Raskin and striker Oscar Cortes in treatment.
The Gers boss plans to replace his summer signing Jefte and 21-year-old academy graduate Robbie Fraser.
Ridvan Yilmaz was forced off during Rangers’ defeat to Dynamo Kiev
Clement said: “Ridvan will be out and I don’t like to go into too much detail, but it will be four to six weeks, give or take.
“Scott Wright has a minor issue and will likely be out, while Leon Balogun is still a doubt.
“I don’t think we have the resources to do these things (sign another left-back), we need to focus on the positions we need for the team for the rest of the season.
“Now we get another full-back, we have Ridvan and Jefte, and we have a third with Robbie Fraser who has made a good development in the last two months.
“So it was time for him to seize the opportunity and he did some positive things in pre-season.
“Giving a chance to the kids coming out of the academy is also part of the story.”
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