“You should be more clinical” – Philippe Clement sends side note to Nigeria striker, urges him to step up in big games

Rangers boss, Philippe Clement, has sent a side note to Nigerian striker, Cyriel Dessers, encouraging him to step up and be more clinical in big games, Soccernet.ng reports. 

Goals from Daizen Maida, Callum McGregor, and Kyogo Furuhashi condemned the Gers to a 3-0 defeat against Celtic in the Old firm derby.

While Rangers were two goals down going into the second half, they had a golden chance immediately after the restart, but Dessers failed to find the back of the net, with the 29-year-old striker missing the target. Had the goal gone in, the momentum of the game would have changed.

Speaking after the game, Philippe Clement lamented about the manner in which his side lost in a game of high stakes, and urged his attackers to do better.

“We started the game really well. In the first 10 minutes we had two really good opportunities, with Cyriel coming free in front of goal and with Rabbi’s free header there. So you need to be clinical in those games, and to come in front. It changes the momentum. It would have helped the team a lot to go in front here. We did good things with the ball to create that, but we need to be more clinical in those moments. It was the same in the second half, because at the end, Celtic had 14 shots, we had 13. They had four on target, we had four on target. But you lose with 3-0. That’s really a clear result and a difference in efficiency, and of course, you give them a lot of confidence. If they come 1-0 in front and 2-0 in front, it’s always easier to play,” the Belgian said in quotes revealed by the Celtic way.

Rangers missed out on a domestic double last season due to consistent losses in the Old Firm derby and need to buckle their seat belts if they want to avoid a repetition of last campaign.