The old football cliché states that you don’t get too high when you win and you don’t get too low when you lose. As Philippe Clement and his players have discovered in recent weeks, that is easier said than done at a club like Rangers.
The praise and plaudits that were earned in the aftermath of the win over Malmo were forgotten in a barrage of comment and criticism following the defeat to Kilmarnock. On Thursday evening, the mood swung in the favour of Clement’s side once again as FCSB were beaten at Ibrox.
Football fans can be a notoriously fickle bunch, of course. When you are playing for a support who demand as much and who have standards and expectations unlike few clubs in the game, then it perhaps understandably can take time to adjust. In the early stages of his Ibrox career, Nedim Bajrami is becoming accustomed to what it means to be a Rangers player.
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Rangers 4-0 FCSB: Clement pressure eased, injury concerns and Igamane off the mark
The Albanian didn’t need to read websites, newspapers or social media after the events at Rugby Park to know that Clement’s side were coming in for unfriendly fire. The playmaker will not get ahead of himself now that the words that are said and written are more positive. He knows, though, that the level of performance produced in a commanding 4-0 victory must become the norm if Rangers are to keep the spirits up amongst the support going forward.
“Yes, I think this has to be the standard,” Bajrami said. “But we have to think game by game because we have a lot of games now and everyone has to be ready, every player.
“We have to play every game higher and higher and to try to win every game. I think these things about pressure are always the newspapers who write them because when you lose, everyone speaks bad about you. When you win, everyone speaks good about you. So sometimes we don't need to read about the newspaper.
“We showed on Thursday against a good Bucharest side a big reaction and this was important for us, for the coach and for the fans. I know about these expectations because I can play under pressure. So even when I play with the national team, even here, I have a lot of experience.
“I'm still young but with a little bit of experience. So for me it's nice to play in front of these fans. I think now you play football, you don't have just one position. So it's a lot of movement, even with Tom (Lawrence) and Jefte. I find myself really enjoying my football with them, even if I play on the left. So for me it's okay.”
Clement has repeatedly referenced the need for time and patience this term as he seeks to mould a new squad into a successful team. While fans will understand, they will also demand and many of the concerns about this side have been expressed fairly and honestly in recent times.
Emotions threatened to boil over heading into the visit of Bucharest. In the end, Rangers did what they had to as Tom Lawrence opened the scoring and Hamza Igamane rounded it off after Vaclav Cerny netted twice. The decibel level has reduced for now.
“After Sunday we knew we had to show a reaction, not only for us but also for the fans,” Bajrami said. “We did it, it was a great performance from everyone, even the guys who went to the game.
“We have to look forward now to Sunday. I think not even the fans, the whole team was a little bit angry. Thursday night was a big game and we showed a big reaction.
“So it was very important for us to show the fans that we knew what we had to do and we'll show it again on Sunday. I think nobody wants to lose, we always want to win. We showed against Steaua a big game, we won 4-0 in the Europa League. This was also our goal and we prepared the game very well.”
The calls for Clement to make widespread changes to his starting line-up and to alter the tactical approach that he has utilised long before he arrived at Ibrox were always going to fall on deaf ears on Thursday evening. The additions of Leon Balogun and Nicolas Raskin made a difference to Rangers but there was more endeavour and desire evident from the start as the raising of individual levels carried collective benefits.
Those qualities should, of course, be non-negotiables. Rangers did the basics right. After that, they let their football do the talking against an opponent that had no answers to move onto six points from their first three Europa League fixtures.
“In football there are no excuses, but even the pitch there was a difficult pitch for us,” Bajrami said when asked about what changed from Rugby Park to Ibrox. “On Thursday back home at Ibrox we showed that we have a lot of qualities, even with young players.
“I think it was a case of going back to basics, as I said before we showed a big reaction, everyone was doing a high press, aggressive. We won the duels and in front of the goal we took our chances. So no matter who scores, it's important that we won and we showed the reaction because on Sunday we didn't win and we didn’t play.
“We knew that Bucharest are a good team. So we tried to press them, we pressed them well. And in front of the goal we showed our quality and we scored a lot of goals. This was important for us.
“We knew our quality, even the quality of the coach. We are all behind him and on Thursday we showed again that we are a great club with young players and old players, with mixed players. And we have to keep going like this.”
The visit of St Mirren on Sunday carries its own significance for Rangers. Another stumble in the Premiership could prove fatal in their attempts to win the title this term and Clement’s side need to build some momentum ahead of a defining run of fixtures across three competitions.
Hamza gets off the mark 🇲🇦pic.twitter.com/MzGaH1nWQg
— The Rangers Review (@RangersReview55) October 24, 2024
The loss of Lawrence at the end of the first half was a source of concern for Clement. Yet the way that Igamane performed after replacing Cyriel Dessers was one of many positives to take. The Moroccan could now be in line for a start against the Saints after he opened his account with an accomplished finish to put the seal on a convincing win.
“We were very happy for Hamza because he's working a lot, even in the training,” Bajrami said. “And finally he scored. I hope he can do this also on Sunday and everyone has to keep going like that.
“I think Hamza and Jefte can be top players in the next few years. Yeah, I think if they do good here they have a big future ahead. And they have to work a lot because football is like that.
“Not just only one goal because we have to show it every weekend. Not only the young players, all the whole staff and even the players.”
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