Last night, Philippe Clement pleaded with the Subway Loyal to remain seated and support the Rangers as they fight their way to the Premiership.
The Ibrox manager lauded the role the Gers played in a crucial away victory at Kilmarnock on Wednesday night, making special note of the team’s fervent travelling supporters. The large Belgian, though, has been perplexed in recent weeks by the sight of thousands of supporters leaving the stadium early while his team is still playing at Ibrox.
Clement is well aware that every minute matters in the fight to finish ahead of Celtic, especially as this year’s championship race may come down to goal differential. Additionally, he hopes that the Ibrox supporters will stick around for the entire match against Motherwell today in order to support his team’s best possible finish.
“It could” (come down to goal difference), he stated. Thus, every little assistance counts. I hope more people can stay because the players truly want to honour everyone who has supported them, as evidenced by their round of the stadium and their visits to every corner to thank the supporters. However, I am also aware that people lead private lives, and juggling all the traffic and departing buses is not an easy task.
“To watch the games, people travel from all over Scotland and even abroad. One of the guys asked if there was a way to change the way the buses are parked during a meeting we had a few months ago. They were travelling from Northern Ireland with the bus, and because they had to leave late, it was difficult for them to get to the boat on time.
“I am aware of and cognizant of the numerous additional problems. Not everyone lives nearby, so they can all just wait. The players, however, undoubtedly want to give everyone the recognition they merit for their contributions to the club.
“And it’s a big deal; you saw it following the last game, the player-fan engagement is now exactly where I want it to be. The players are eager to treat everyone with the respect they are due, therefore it would be best if they stayed longer.
At Rugby Park, the Gers had to dig deep after falling behind the Killie team led by Derek McInnes. However, he was thrilled to see the supporters help Ayrshire achieve a very important victory. “I’m really happy to see that,” he remarked. I get a lot of energy from it.
“We have been going up, up, up at this club, and it is in a pretty excellent situation right now. We will make an effort, but it is difficult to win every game. At the same time, it is crucial that things continue as they are when we eventually hit a snag in the road.
“It seems like everyone in the team, including the players and supporters, is prepared for that and sticks together because there is a lot of love from both sides,” the author said.
But Clement wants the Ibrox season ticket holders to understand how fortunate they are to be able to support his team, even though he will be missing winger Oscar Cortez for today’s match against Well. He responded, “Yes, because a lot of people want to be there and in their position.”
“I am from a club in Brugge where, during happy times, there is also a strong bond between the players and the supporters. It also endows you with immense strength. Because I scored a lot of goals from corners with headers, the fans behind the goal used to sing me a song every time we had a corner when I was a player.
“I understand how much that gives players because it gave me so much energy.” Fans frequently are unaware of how much that contributes. This one has 51,000, which is incredible. And there are more than simply 51,000 because many of the individuals I’ve encountered on the street are ardent supporters who are having trouble obtaining tickets to attend the games.
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