In addition to calling on the Scottish football authorities to think about imposing Sunday evening kick-off hours for teams playing in Europe on a Thursday, Philippe Clement lauded Rangers for how they handled a “tricky” journey to Livingston.
In less than 72 hours, the Rangers manager seen his team easily defeat Sparta Prague 2-0 at the Tony Macaroni Arena, following an exhausting 2-1 triumph against the Czech team in the Europa League.
This season, teams like Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibernian, and the Ibrox team have all had to deal with having to play domestic games on Sunday afternoons following Thursday night European matchups. According to Clement, Scotland ought to take the lead from other leagues and give them more time to recover in these circumstances.
“I believe that approach is better for Scottish football,” the Belgian stated. In Belgium and other leagues, they carry it out.
“Those who have never played would wonder what the difference is between playing for eight hours versus six. However, because players don’t have much time to recover, these hours of sleep and recuperation make a significant difference in a body’s ability to heal.
“Recovery is a crucial component of our schedule because we play every three days and will play 12 games in about 38 days (after the international break).” The meal, beverage, cryo, and timing of sleep.
It’s crucial, in my opinion, that clubs that play on Thursday nights in Europe play on Sunday nights in every league. That is done in many leagues, so perhaps we will see it in the future.
For the Livingston encounter, Clement made four changes to his lineup, acknowledging that the demanding nature of the Sparta match had an impact.
“Yes, because I take a risk, for instance, if I let Danilo start today after he completed 1,300 meters of high-intensity running on Thursday,” he remarked. “Obviously, I took a look at that.”
James Tavernier, who had missed an earlier penalty attempt, scored a penalty in the second half to give the team victory at Livingston. Cyriel Dessers had scored the first goal of the game. In the first half, Rangers also had goals disallowed by VAR from Connor Goldson and Ross McCausland, who was making his debut start.
“It was a challenging match, given the conditions with the (plastic) field, which is not advantageous for us with the football we wish to play,” Clement remarked.
“Also begin at 12 o’clock following a European evening. Playing locally after enjoying success in Europe might occasionally put players’ heads in jeopardy.
“The team demonstrated a really excellent mentality and the appropriate spirit to play a very mature game because, quite obviously, we deserved to win and we gave nothing away.
Additionally, when a penalty is missed and a goal is disallowed, you may find yourself in risky situations where you lose points since the odds are not in your favor. It’s a pretty promising afternoon in the end.
Livingston has lost five games in a row heading into the international break. Despite lamenting a “disappointing” first half performance, manager David Martindale is undeterred by their current situation.
“For us, this is not an unusual circumstance,” he declared. Yes, our goal differential puts us at the bottom of the league, but most seasons, we have had runs of losing five straight games.
All we have to do is get back on course. It’s about one game at a time and what we can control; I’m not big on metrics or data. With any luck, that will result in performances, and performances equal outcomes.
