Philippe Clement admits Rangers wanted more from January transfer window

Philippe Clement says Rangers wanted more in the January transfer window and admits finances dictated why they’ll need to wait for Lyall Cameron to join the club in the summer.

Monday’s deadline passed with the Ibrox club having only made one immediate signing, as defender Rafael Fernandes arrived from Lille on loan, and the announcement that Dundee midfielder Cameron had signed a pre-contract agreement to join Rangers when his Dens Park deal expires in the summer.

Zak Lovelace left the club to return to Millwall, while Kieran Dowell and Rabbi Matondo both left on loan.

Rangers were in the market for another attacking player before the window closed but had to settle for just the one new face in Clement’s squad as he looks to compete domestically and in Europe in the second half of the season.

The manager admitted he had hoped to have more, and suggested that the lack of business may slow the rate of progress, but he said would work with what he has.

“We as a club wanted more,” Clement said. “We talked about that.

“At the end, we didn’t achieve all the goals that we wanted. And now with this squad it is about going full for everything we want and that is to win every game. That stays the ambition.

“It’s a really high ambition I know but it’s my ambition also at every club I work for.

“We will keep looking to develop this group and make it better. Maybe because we missed something in the transfer window it will give an opportunity to somebody else to blossom.

“Maybe we lose a little bit more time than we expected on the trajectory that we wanted to make with the squad. But it’s now also about getting the maximum out of the group and focusing on that and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Asked about the decision to wait until Cameron’s Dundee contract runs down to sign the 22-year-old, instead of rising him away from the Dens Park club before the window closed, Clement conceded that he wanted the player in early but that money dictated that he wait.

“At the end, that’s a financial decision, of course,” he said.

“We all wanted him to come as fast as possible but it was not possible. So we need to wait a few months longer.

“Sometimes that’s the case. With Jefte it was the same. We wanted him in January last year and pushed really hard for that but it wasn’t possible and six months later it was.”