Clement ignoring Tavernier advice to benefit Rangers after ‘not going to play’ claim
Clement ignoring Tavernier advice to benefit Rangers after ‘not going to play’ claim
Philippe Clement has consistently managed players since arriving at Rangers in a way that lessens the likelihood of injury.
As a manager who listens to the medical and conditioning staff, he also makes decisions that might not always be popular among the support.
So it was against Dundee with Nedim Bajrami starting on the bench after impressing since signing for Rangers on deadline day.
Rangers manager must heed own advice for James Tavernier
One question that hasn’t been put to Clement though, is why hasn’t James Tavernier been rotated when he is a player under pressure and short of form?
The Gers boss doesn’t have any excuses in terms of potential backups either with Dujon Sterling and Neraysho Kasanwirjo available to cover.
With the latter impressing against Malmo, it was a surprise to see the skipper – who is nearly 33 – continuing his run of starting every game this season.
Especially when you consider the manager’s comments earlier in the summer when Tavernier and Connor Goldson were linked with moves away from Rangers:
“What I see is that they brought a lot to the club the last couple of years. That they did really good games with me. They also did games where it was less, like all the team.
“For me they maybe played too much last season or the last couple of years because if you play 60 games nobody is every time at his top shape. They have done all of that for the club, they worked really hard for that.
“They are not going to play 60 games the season to come now and all the speculation around them is the same speculation that you can have around every player. It is the same for us.”
Clement brought both Sterling and Kasanwirjo off the bench, however, Tavernier still completed the full 90 minutes.
He’s a robust athlete, but if Clement really wants to get the best out of his skipper, playing twice a week isn’t sustainable.
Less should be more tom combat Tavernier form dip
Tavernier struggled against Malmo to the extent that they attacked almost solely down their left having not got any joy out of Kasanwirjo on the other flank.
The best example is Jefte and how much of an impression the Brazilian is making.
Unburdened by failure, the 20-year old is a breath of fresh air as Kasanwirjo was in Sweden.
It is the same mistakes in the same games that Tavernier is making and causing frustration in the process.
How can Sterling and Kasanwirjo really show what they are capable of if they aren’t given a chance and what is the point of signing them if they aren’t going to play?
If Clement sticks to his word, he would see that loyalty isn’t always the best approach.
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