'I don't want excuses': Rangers boss Philippe Clement puts focus on performance after Kilmarnock defeat

Rangers manager Philippe Clement admitted his side weren’t good enough in their 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock but refused to look at any factors other than the on-field performance.

Marley Watkins scored the only goal of the fame in the 87th minute of the match at Rugby Park, meaning Rangers not only missed the opportunity to capitalise on Celtic and Aberdeen’s 2-2 draw on Saturday but ended up six points behind the top two.

While Clement and his players were struggling to create chances on Sunday, the Rangers support made their feelings known about the club’s current position. They unfurled banners that read: “No chairman. No CEO. No Director of Football Operations. No Clue. One Scapegoat”.

Clement was asked if that situation had an effect but he was quick to reject the idea and turn attention on to the performance.

“I don’t want to go into that because I don’t want excuses about pitches, winds, whatever,” he said.

“We need to focus on ourselves, on the players, on the new players coming in, to get them at their best levels on the players who were here, to get them to their best level too, and to play better than we did today.

“I was not pleased with that game in the first half. The second half was much better, but then you get this goal against.

“In the end, if you win this game, which was possible in the second half, and you scored the goal, you can have a totally different feeling.

“But we didn’t do enough to get that feeling, so we need to learn from that and be stronger on Thursday and the Sunday after, and the weeks to come.

The manager also understood the angry reactions from the travelling fans at full-time, saying it was to be expected and could only be changed with better results.

“It’s normal that they’re unhappy,” he said. “There’s not one person on the staff or one player who was happy after this game, after losing.

“So that’s normal. The players showed respect towards the fans, the fans showed what they felt about the results, and that’s a normal thing.

“So it’s about getting back the results, that’s the main thing , and then the fans get behind you.

“I think the anger has to do with a lot of things. So I will be focused on the sporting side to get the best out of this squad.

“We’re going to work really hard with this squad, and there is a lot of potential in this squad. Much more potential than people see maybe for the moment. So it’s about working hard with them and making them better.”