Rangers 'in good place for big Tottenham test'
Tottenham are 'level Rangers want to play at' - Philippe Clement
- Published
Rangers are "in a really good place" at the start of a testing week, says manager Philippe Clement.
The Ibrox side host Tottenham Hotspur in Thursday's Europa League fixture (20:00 GMT) then attempt to retain the League Cup against Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic in next Sunday's final (15:30).
Sunday's 3-0 Premiership win at Ross County was Rangers' fourth win in a row in all competitions and reduced the gap on second-placed Aberdeen to two points, with a game in hand.
Clement believes his players are "starting to recognise what to do when" and "getting connections" and "the right timings".
"We're not there yet at our maximum," he said.
"Spurs is going to be a really big test. This team never played at this level against that type of opponent.
"I'm really interested in how we will react, how we will make our decisions on the pitch, because it needs to be faster than in the league games.
"The team can only grow getting experience like that. We're in a really good place in that way, but we need to prove it on Thursday against one of the better teams in the Premier League, so it's one of the better teams in the world with a really big difference in budget of course.
"That's the level my players want to play and I want to play and I want to see them play also to challenge that type of team."
Rangers are well placed in the Europa League, sitting inside the top eight, with a superior goal difference to ninth-placed Spurs and below two other sides who also have 10 points.
The top eight will automatically qualify for the last 16, while teams placed ninth to 24th enter the knockout round.
Rangers will also face Manchester United (23 January) and Belgians Union Saint-Gilloise (30 January) in the league phase.
Tottenham led visitors Chelsea 2-0 in Sunday's Premier League fixture, but lost 4-3.
"We have a good amount of points in the Europa League, so every point we take against Spurs and Man Utd will be a bonus, I think," Clement added on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound.