'I tried to be discreet' - Hugh Keevins denies who his source was on secret Rangers failure in int'l break

Hugh Keevins says Tony Docherty was not his “informant” after revealing the behind-closed-doors friendly defeat Rangers suffered during the international break.

The Daily Record journalist insisted via the outlet’s website on 19 October he had “tried to be discreet” in reporting the secret set-back for Philippe Clement’s side, before the Dundee boss came out and made it public that his side had been the victors in a 1-0 result [Daily Record, 14 October].

The Light Blues beat Dundee 3-0 in the League Cup on 21 September and have won all their games domestically since the 3-0 loss at Celtic on 1 September, but the friendly defeat, despite fielding what Docherty called a “strong” line-up, may be a concern.

Keevins wrote: “I tried to be discreet last week when I revealed Rangers had lost a closed-door game against another Premiership side.

“Then Tony Docherty, who was not my informant, publicly stated it had been his Dundee team who had beaten Philippe Clement’s side in Glasgow.”

Tony Docherty outed Dundee win over Rangers

The season has hardly been a roaring success overall but European disappointments and the miserable derby defeat have arguably masked a solid set of results otherwise.

That needs to continue on the return from the international break at Kilmarnock on 20 October, not least since Celtic and Aberdeen’s 2-2 draw has opened the door for the Gers to close the gap on both.

Fans, and Clement, will hope to dismiss the Dundee hiccup as inconsequential since it was a bounce game, but it is unlikely to be what the manager hoped to see from his players.

Docherty’s side hadn’t won since mid-August prior to their 1-0 win over Motherwell on 19 October so it looks like they got a boost from the private friendly.

Rangers will have to hope they don’t take the opposite from it with a major opportunity on offer to reel in the top two.

The difficulty of playing the day after Celtic for the foreseeable future has been tipped to hold a psychological strain if they win [Charlie Mulgrew, 18 October], so they have to make the most of it when points have been dropped.

Clement has promised the next Old Firm derby will be different, and risked causing great anger, but for now he has to concentrate on his own side, starting at Rugby Park.

In other Rangers news, Ryan Kent has been mooted to return to Auchenhowie to train ahead of a potential re-signing.

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