Rangers manager Philippe Clement faces 'reality' of choices over European squad
- Published
Rangers manager Philippe Clement (right) did not have the option of selecting Ridvan Yilmaz in Europa League group games
Rangers manager Philippe Clement admits there will be players left out of his next European squad that he wants to include.
Defenders Leon Balogun and Ridvan Yilmaz did not feature in the Ibrox side's Europa League group games after being omitted from the European squad by Clement's predecessor Michael Beale.
And the Belgian can only make three changes for the last-16 tie in March.
"I'm not happy with the rule," said Clement before the visit of Livingston.
"But the rule is the rule of course for all the teams and I understand the idea behind it.
"I was not really totally aligned with how the European list was started at the beginning of the season but it was also what it is so I can only make three changes now.
"A few players that I wanted on the list cannot be on the list. That will be a reality."
Clement added two more loan players to Wolves forward Fabio Silva's arrival, with an obligation to buy midfielder Mohamed Diomande from Nordsjaelland and an option to buy winger Oscar Cortes from Lens. Sam Lammers returned to the Netherlands with a loan move to Utrecht.
The manager believes Cortes, 20, and Diomande, 22, can "raise their game here and can give added value to the club also in the future to bring more money in the club", and the former is more likely to feature in Saturday's Scottish Premiership match.
Reported interest in left-back Yilmaz did not give rise to a move and though Rangers were heavily linked with Heart of Midlothian's Scotland forward Lawrence Shankalnd, again no deal materialised.
"The main concern is of course to get results but with a good business plan,"Clement added.
"I'm happy that it's finished and we know what the squad is to go on the next four months. It's going to be now this almost sprint of four months with a lot of games.
"I'm happy with the squad that is here now. About the striker position? Everybody is saying that Cyriel [Dessers] is doing a big evolution in this three months. It's really clear for everybody. Fabio has showed good things already. He's still adapting to the team and the way of playing. That's normal.
"There were a few offers where the players said, 'no, I want to stay at Rangers'."
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