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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Inside Philippe Clement's one-on-one talks with each Rangers player

Scott Wright has lifted the lid on Philippe Clement's recent candid conversations with each Rangers player.

The Belgian boss sat down with every player who made the journey to La Manga for the club's winter training camp to try to strengthen the bond between himself and the squad.

The Gers players have been put through their paces during the winter break. As well as training sessions in the sun, they played a closed-doors friendly against Hertha Berlin, with another game against FC Copenhagen scheduled for tomorrow evening.

However, Clement has also taken time away from the pitch to talk one-on-one with each of his players. That's something that has helped to provide clarity to Wright.

He said: “It’s been really good. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s been good to get this time to work with the manager because we haven’t really had that opportunity. It’s good to get a block of time to get more training done and get his ideas across.

“We’ve had that here in Spain so it’s been brilliant. The manager has held talks with each player individually and that has been great. He has more time at the moment to put across what he wants.

“He’s managed to get the boys a bit more so it’s been really good to come away as a team and build up what was already a strong bond. We are trying to build for the season half of the season so it’s been really important to come away. I had a chat with the manager, he managed to work his way around the group when we were here.

“It was just a basic chat to see where you are, where you can improve and the things he wants you to work on. It’s about getting the best out of each other and that’s all he wants really, just to get the best out of his players.

“It’s a great bunch of boys so coming away and spending all that time together has been good. Those bonds will only get stronger as we push on into the second half of the season.

“Every player is different but it’s important to have that bond and understanding. It’s about tapping into different things to get the best out of each player. At a club like this you might not be playing and then all of a sudden you are thrown into it.

“You are always expected to perform so it’s about making sure that you are ready. I think he’s very clear, he brings clarity.

“We are understanding what he wants and how he wants his team to look out on the pitch. He’s a great man-manager, he knows how to talk to the players individually and collectively and I think the bond is only going to get stronger. We are looking to use that in the second half of the season.”

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