Todd Cantwell receives emphatic Rangers backing from Philippe Clement but boss demands tactics MUST be followed

The Ibrox gaffer hooked the midfielder after just 35 minutes but is adamant the playmaker will earn a redemption shot

Rangers boss Philippe Clement says he will have no hesitation playing Todd Cantwell against St Mirren today.

The Ibrox gaffer hooked the midfielder after just 35 minutes of their 1-1 Europa League draw against Aris Limassol on Thursday night. Cantwell wasn’t happy at being subbed early. Clement wants more from the 25-year-old when he’s deployed on the right flank, as opposed to his preferred central berth. But despite their disagreement in midweek, the Belgian says there’s no issue with Cantwell, who is in contention to start on Sunday.

Clement said: “I felt Todd wasn’t playing his normal game on Thursday night. You can wait 10 minutes longer but for what? To lose 10 minutes more? I’m sure he’ll react positively from it moving forward now. Todd has done a good job for me already on the right side, which I know isn’t his best position or preferred position. But with the injuries we have and the players out, that’s the situation right now. I don’t have many options on that side and he’s done a good job for the team before.

“On Thursday it was less good but Sunday is a new game. It’s not about me being happy or if players give a bad pass or miss a chance. They need to play in the right positions. Otherwise we don’t play our football together and that’s not good.”

Rangers fans let Clement and the players feel their frustrations in midweek, with Sam Lammers and Jose Cifuentes in particular heavily criticised. Ahead of today’s must-win game against St Mirren, Clement said: “I’m not going to speak about individual players, I’ll do that in the dressing room like I always do. It’s a team sport. We didn’t draw because of just one or two players.

“I know everyone is really ambitious here at Rangers but I don’t think there is one fan in the stadium who is more ambitious than me. So I understand that they want to win. We want to win also so we’ll work hard for that. This isn’t a road that’s going to be smooth. There will be bumps on the way.

“But I want to see a team that keeps on pushing for results. We’re missing injured players and some players are coming back from injury. We have to be sharper. But the group is pushing really hard. And I know that in a few weeks or months we’ll get better.”

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