Philippe Clement claimed Rangers came close to delivering the perfect performance as they dismantled Nice in the Europa League to plant one foot in the knockout rounds.
In a remarkable opening half in the south of France, the visitors raced into a three-goal lead through Vaclav Cerny, Mohamed Diomande and Hamza Igamane. The outstanding Igamane sealed his first European start with a second goal – and Rangers’ fourth – shortly after the restart.
Although Badredine Bouanani claimed a consolation, Rangers moved on to the 10-point mark which already may be sufficient to secure qualification for the business end of the competition.
Delighted with the way his players executed the game-plan, Clement said: ‘If we would have scored more goals then it was really close to perfection. We still had really good chances that we didn’t finish in the right way.
‘But I saw a really impressive performance, what I wanted as a team. You saw a team on the pitch being compact all the time, using the spaces in the right way, using the ball in the right way, scoring good goals.
‘You see many new players on the pitch who are only two months, three months, maximum four months at the club. So we start to see everything gelling together better and better.’
Rangers manager Philippe Clement says he can see his players getting better and better
Clement and his team celebrate with the fans after their 4-1 victory against Nice in France
Hamza Igamane showed some of his potential with two goals in Rangers’ Europa League win
With Rangers already 11 points behind Celtic in the title race, the pressure has been mounting on the Belgian. He believes, however, that this stunning victory will restore the fans’ faith in what he is trying to do.
‘I hope that and I know it’s been a really difficult season in that way. Starting at Hampden, it created a lot of negativity from fans and (there was) a little bit of a toxic environment in that way because everybody was disappointed. You have a lot of new players, nobody knows their value.
‘They say: “Why do we buy a young boy out of Morocco (Igamane) who doesn’t have any experience”, for example. So, today, people start to see the potential and why these decisions are made with the financial situation of the club in the summer.’
Aside from scoring twice, Igamane set up Cerny for the opener. Asked what he’d said to the striker before starting a game at this level for the first time, Clement said: ‘I said this was not an exam for him, that he’s making the good steps.
‘He gets the chance because he’s proving the right things in the training with his work attitude, with the things he does with the ball.
‘Hamza showed already the potential he has for the future and that he can become an important Rangers player.’