Philippe Clement claims Rangers can now secure qualification for the knockout stages of the Europa League by slaying an English Premier League giant.
The Belgian’s side claimed a deserved 1-1 draw at the home of Conference League holders Olympiakos to move on to seven points after four matches thanks to Cyriel Dessers cancelling out Ayoub El Kaabi’s opener.
Rangers next travel to face Nice with clashes against Tottenham and Manchester United coming up before their group stage campaign concludes against Union St-Gilloise.
But having left Piraeus mildly disappointed that his side didn’t take all three points given the number of chances they created, Clement says his men will go into each one of their remaining matches believing they can get the win that is likely to see them progress.
‘I never settle about things,’ Clement insisted.
Philippe Clement says Rangers will now try to pull off a miracle against a Premier League giant
Connor Barron was praised for his display after Cyriel Dessers’ equaliser earned Rangers a point
James Tavernier was rested against Olympiakos and can no longer expect to start every match
‘I don’t put goals before the games because that means that you start to calculate that, against certain teams, you cannot get points. That it’s impossible. I don’t believe in that.
‘I’ve seen enough when I was a player or a manager that miracles are possible if you go for it.
‘So, we will go for that the next month against these really big teams. I think we are on track in that way.’
While content with a draw, Clement felt his side created sufficient chances to have won the game with Dessers guilty of missing several opportunities.
‘To take these seven points, I hoped it was nine. I think it was possible today,’ added the manager.
‘We had the chances to win this game. So, in that part, the disappointment is there.
‘It was a very strong performance as a team.
‘Sticking to the plan, being very disciplined and using the spaces not perfectly, but a lot of times really good, and creating good chances out of that.
‘So, that’s for me the only minor (criticism), but it stays an important thing. There’s disappointment that we didn’t win the game.
‘That’s the next step we need to take to win these kind of games by being more efficient.
‘But I saw a lot of positive things and I need to praise the whole team for that. What they showed today in the discipline, to stick to the plan and to do the right things on the ball.’
Clement’s bold call to drop skipper James Tavernier was vindicated with Dujon Sterling filling the right-back role.
Although the manager claimed the call he made was not an easy one, he warned Tavernier that at the age of 33 he can’t now expect to start every game.
‘That’s never an easy decision, but I want more than one captain in the group,’ he continued.
‘Also, if you come to a certain age, you cannot play 60 games anymore at the same level. So, that’s normal.’
Clement was effusive in his praise for the way his midfield pair — Nicolas Raskin and Connor Barron — ensured the Greeks rarely had control of the match.
‘Nico is growing,’ he said. ‘We had a very important player (John Lundstram) last season in the midfield also with a lot of experience. It’s now two young guys with a lot of energy who are still learning details of the game.
‘But they are really hungry to learn.’