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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

'A team with balls' - Clement details blunt Rangers demands in Real Betis triumph

Philippe Clement has revealed he demanded his Rangers side prove they were a 'brave team with balls' against Real Betis.

The tough-talking Ibrox boss led his side to a crucial victory in the Europa League to seal a spot in the last 16 of the tournament.

And Clement wasn't shy in explaining the high standards he sets for his team any time they play as he hailed a "very strong performance" as Rangers ended the curse of Scottish teams losing in Seville.

On TNT Sports, Clement said: "You saw a very strong performance from my team. I wanted to see a team with balls, a brave team.

"A team who wanted to create and score goals, not only defend against a class team.

"I got what I asked for from the boys. I gave them several challenges these last couple of weeks and this was by far the biggest one They stepped again over it and I'm really happy with the performance but also the mentality which was really great.

"We need to stick to these things and keep them in our mind. If we do that all season then you will always have a good season.

While Clement beamed with pride over his side's showing in Seville, he was forced to put a dampner on proceedings as he confirmed an injury knock for Jose Cifuentes.

The midfielder was withdrawn with an issue at half time and was replaced by Dujon Sterling.

The Ibrox boss added: "We lost Cifuentes through injury so that was again a blow. Dujon did the job really well in the midfield and you see there's a really incredible dynamic in the team.

"Everybody is fighting for each other. Everybody is doing the job and really hungry when they come in to the team. There are no unhappy faces.

"I saw John Souttar being the biggest fan in the stadium from the bench for the other guys. That's the mentality I want to see and if you do that all season, you always win trophies."

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