Philippe Clement claimed his side's performance in the 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen was one of the better Rangers displays of the season.

The Ibrox boss watched his team drop nine points behind Aberdeen and Celtic at the top of the table with the deserved loss at Pittodrie, a situation that puts the Belgian under intense pressure.

Undeterred, Clement was sanguine in defeat, claiming his team performed well on the night and didn't get the rub of the green.

He told Sky Sports: "It's disappointing to lose, of course, but this could be a game that you draw or, on a good day when things fall to your side, that you win. Key moments are not on our side at the moment.

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"In the first half, we started well, then Aberdeen took over. We struggled really hard. In the second half, we took the game in our hands. We get the chances, but we didn't score them and they score on the rare occasion they came forward. 

"We need to be more clinical in the final third to win these kinds of games and to have the luck on your side. I think this is one of our better performances until now, this season, with the new squad.

"All credit to Aberdeen also, the way they played now at home, the way they played at Celtic Park also. So they are there where they deserve to be. And we're working hard to make things better on our side."

When pushed on his own future and the increased pressure of the job, Clement insisted he's building for the long-term.

He added: "It's not about me. It's about the club. It's about building a big rebuild that was necessary. Also, you've seen the numbers yesterday and why the rebuild was necessary for the club. Also, with cutting down the wages, making a younger squad because the squad was old. All these things, that was a decision made by everybody in the club and everybody sticks behind that because it was the only way to stay healthy as a club and to stay sustainable. I don't think that fans or any other people want to go back to the situation of 12 years ago."