Rangers gave Tottenham Hotspur all the respect that they deserved as a Premier League side and yet Philippe Clement gave the clearest indication yet of how he wants his team to play.
The manager was brave with his starting XI and will have noticed a difference being able to rest and rotate a few players ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm Premier Sports Cup final.
One player who Clement will be hoping recovers quickly is John Souttar who had to be replaced in the first half with Rangers handling everything that had been thrown at them.
Rangers sweat on John Souttar fitness
Souttar is, arguably, in the form of his career just now and has brought his Scotland performances from the last international break to his club football.
A Spurs forward line that featured Timo Werner, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Heung-min Son was always one that could cause problems, but Jack Butland was kept relatively quiet in front of the Copland Road stand.
Clement has been impressed with Souttar recently, however, he will have been concerned to see the Rangers No.5 limp off the park after playing a simple pass and pulling up with what looked like a groin injury.
When asked by Emma Dodds on TNT Sports for an update on the 28-year old defender, he said:
“I don’t know for the moment but it’s never a great moment when you have to step off in the pitch in the first half.
“We will know more in a couple of days, but for now, I don’t have a clue.”
How does Souttar absence cause more than one problem?
The problem isn’t that Leon Balogun and Robin Propper can’t be trusted in terms of ability, because for more than half of the game, they performed well as a pairing and restricted Spurs quality of attempts at goal.
Having to rely on them both to stay fit is an issue though with both spending time in the treatment room or being substituted in other matches this season.
Neraysho Kasanwirjo was the other back up centre half with Dujon Sterling filling in sporadically too, however, there has been no sign of Clinton Nsiala, the summer signing from AC Milan who had been expected to be a part of the first team squad.
It’s a short turn around to the next biggest game of the season where, with or without Souttar, another similar defensive display will be needed to bring the silverware back to the Ibrox trophy room
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