Rangers

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• St Johnstone have failed to score in five of their 15 games, only Ross County (eight) have failed to score more often in the Premiership this season.

• Rangers have scored in their last five games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of five games from April 2024 to May 2024.

• St Johnstone attempted four shots in this game, their lowest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• Rangers have kept a clean sheet in seven of their 13 games, only Celtic (10) have done this more often in the Premiership this season.

Watch the best of the action from McDiarmid Park as Rangers edge to a 1-0 victory over St Johnstone.

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Kevin Bain has left Aberdeen to become Rangers' new head physio. (Record), external

Rangers lacked style in their 1-0 victory away to St Johnstone on Sunday, admits manager Philippe Clement. (Mail), external

Clement believes Rangers captain James Tavernier, 33, is reaping the rewards of squad rotation. (Herald - subscription), external

Jordan White, 32, urges improvement from Ross County against Rangers on Sunday after they lost 5-0 at Celtic Park. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

Rangers got there in the end, although the win over St Johnstone should really have been more comfortable.

Let us know your thoughts on a game of two halves in Perth.

Rangers will be relieved to improve on a poor away record in the league and once they found a way through the stubborn St Johnstone defence the points looked safe.

Slow starts have been too common this season, with the second-half showing a huge improvement.

Having earned such an impressive win away to Nice in the Europa League, fatigue may have been a factor and then there is the mental switch back to the humdrum of domestic duty.

Restored captain James Tavernier was not at his cavalier best but did make an important contribution, with his presence leading to the goal.

Like many of his team-mates, Hagi had a subdued opening 45 minutes but sparked into life after the break, going close with a couple of shots and supplying the cross for the breakthrough moment.

Substitute Danilo made an impact up top, drawing three saves from Josh Rae, although he really should have scored with his final effort.

The biggest difference though was the collective attitude and application in the second half when they had St Johnstone pinned back throughout. Manager Philippe Clement must find a way to harness that energy more often.

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Rangers manager Philippe Clement told BBC Scotland: "I'm satisfied. We should have scored two or three goals more and then it's close to what we want. There was also a good goalkeeper and we still need better decision making in the final third.

"I see the team getting better and better in the other parts of our football. Controlling the games in a good way, creating chances and giving away almost nothing.

"We also controlled the game at the end, not doing stupid things and not being naive. We've been busy in the last weeks and months to get that into their heads.

"Our physical data is getting better with all the squad and that's a work in progress.

"It's Ianis' first start, he needs to gel. Vaclav is new, Nedim is new. Hamza, it's also his first starts. We can only grow. It's important that the fans see that."

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Making his first Rangers start in such a long time, Ianis Hagi reminded fans of what he has to offer with a bright second-half showing.

The 26-year-old was at the heart of many of the best moments for his side and his cross led to the all-important goal.

This was the Romanian's first full 90-minute outing of the season and suggests there is more to come.

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Belgium goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has urged Rangers to keep faith in manager Philippe Clement, who signed him for Club Brugge in 2019, as his compatriot was "unbelievable" to work for and "knows what he's doing". (Sunday Mail), external

Forward Fabio Silva, who suffered a difficult time on loan to Rangers last season, scored Las Palmas' winning goal in their 2-1 La Liga victory away to Barcelona. (The Herald On Sunday), external

Malik Tillman, the midfielder now with PSV Eindhoven after a loan spell with Rangers from Bayern Munich, is now attracting interest from Aston Villa, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. (Sky Germany via Scottish Sun), external

Celtic have the highest average attendance in the Scottish Premiership this season so far with 59,022, with Rangers next on 47,878, followed by Heart of Midlothian on 18,527 and Aberdeen on 18,194. (Football Scotland), external

A £2m mansion bought by former Celtic and Scotland midfielder and now Ayr United manager Scott Brown was once owned by former Rangers owner David Murray. (Scottish Sun On Sunday), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Following Thursday's excellent Europa League win in Nice, attention turns back to domestic football for Rangers manager Philippe Clement.

The Belgian's European form has been impressive, but the Ibrox boss has faced intense criticism for Premiership performances and results this season.

So with a trip to St Johnstone to come on Sunday, we have crunched the numbers behind the Clement's league record.

His win percentage stands at 69% after losing seven and drawing six of his 42 Premiership games.

The most recent of those draws came last Saturday as Clement's side had to come from behind against Dundee United at Ibrox, meaning they are now 11 points adrift of leaders Celtic and eight shy of second-placed Aberdeen.

But how does the Ibrox boss' record compare with his predecessors?

Well, his win percentage in the league is the lowest of any Rangers manager since Graeme Murty, who departed his role in May 2018.

Michael Beale's stood at 77%, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst on 70%. Across a far greater sample size, Steven Gerrard's was 72%.

With a hectic schedule to come, and sizeable gaps to make up on both teams, Clement must ensure that win rate spikes or he will inevitably face the same fate as the two managers who came before him.

• St Johnstone have lost their last seven meetings with Rangers in all competitions, last suffering a longer losing run against them in December 1992 (10 in a row).

• Rangers have only lost one of their last 23 meetings with St Johnstone in all competitions (W18 D4), and one of their last 19 against the Perth men away from home (W15 D3), a 2-1 defeat in November 2022 under Giovanni van Bronckhorst in what proved to be their final defeat under the Dutchman.

• St Johnstone have won two of their last three home league games (L1), as many as their previous 15 beforehand (W2 D4 L9).

• With just four points, this is Rangers’ lowest tally from their opening five away games of a league season since 1987-88 under Graeme Souness (also 4).

• Rangers have won 25 of their last 26 league games played in December, although the exception was their most recent, losing 2-1 to Celtic last year.

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Thursday's stunning Europa League win over Nice will "give a lot of hope" to Rangers fans, says manager Philippe Clement.

The Belgian has been facing intense scrutiny from the Ibrox support as the team currently sit third in the Premiership, nine points behind Aberdeen and 11 adrift of rivals Celtic.

But a terrific 4-1 win in France, which lifted Rangers into the Europa League top eight, helped alleviate mounting pressure.

Despite there still being concerns from fans about their side's domestic form, Clement feels the victory shows "the team is starting to gel together".

"They are starting to understand everything better and better," he told RangersTV prior to Rangers' Premiership trip to St Johnstone on Sunday.

"For some players it's been two months together, some three months together, some four months together, it's still a short time so it's good already to have this level in Europe.

"Having 10 points, it's a very bright start and this will give a lot of hope to all our fans, also about the future of the club and the future of this squad."

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St Johnstone's Barry Douglas misses out with a knock. Saints are still without long-term absentees Uche Ikpeazu (knee), Cammy MacPherson (hip) and Sam McClelland (Achilles).

Danilo and Ianis Hagi return to the Rangers squad after missing out on the Nice game as they are not in the European squad.

Oscar Cortes has returned to training and Tom Lawrence and Rabbi Matondo are getting close to a return following their respective injuries, while Neysharo Kasanwirjo is out long term with a knee injury.

Lawrence Shankland's chances of joining Rangers appear to have gone amid the Heart of Midlothian striker's barren goals run even though the 29-year-old remains out of contract next summer. (The Herald), external

Joe Gelhardt, who previously came close to a loan to Celtic, looks set to leave Leeds United on loan in January, with Rangers vying with the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth, Preston North End, Stoke City and Belgian clubs for the 22-year-old forward's services. (Yorkshire Evening Post), external

Former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness thinks Rangers might be prepared to forgo £3m due in compensation should they receive an approach for Philippe Clement if Domenico Tedesco is dismissed as Belgium head coach. (Football Insider), external

Former Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has been sacked by Besiktas, with the Turkish club releasing the terms of an agreement reached to terminate the Dutchman's contract. (Fanatik), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

Philippe Clement will have greeted Rangers' 4-1 Europa League win over Nice with a mixture of joy, satisfaction, relief and frustration.

The reason for the joy is obvious considering the win in the south of France not only shocked many around Europe means the Belgian's side are almost assured of progress to the knockout stage.

The satisfaction will have come from Hamza Igamane justifying Clement's decision to start the 22-year-old ahead of misfiring striker Cyriel Dessers with two goals and assists in his first European start.

The relief comes amid speculation about his future as manager after his side slipped 11 points behind leaders Celtic in the domestic title race after last weekend's 1-1 draw at home to Dundee United.

The frustration results from his side's Jekyll and Hyde contrast between patchy domestic performances and impressive ones in Europe.

With just four points, Rangers have the lowest tally from their opening five away games of a league season since 1987-88 under Graeme Souness.

However, meetings with St Johnstone, Kilmarnock and Ross County give Clement a chance to change the domestic narrative before new chief executive Patrick Stewart takes charge on 16 December shortly after more difficult matches with Tottenham Hotspur in Europe and Celtic in the League Cup final.

The omens are good for Rangers on Sunday despite Simo Valakari's side ending their own three-game losing streak by beating Kilmarnock 1-0 last Saturday.

Rangers have won both their meetings with St Johnstone this season and their past three visits to McDiarmid Park, all without conceding a goal, and have won their past seven games against the Perth side.

Read all the weekend Premiership picks

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Simo Valakari insists Rangers' impressive Europa League win in Nice "doesn't make any difference to us" as St Johnstone bid to add to the Ibrox side's domestic struggles.

Third-place Rangers, who trail 11 points behind Premiership leaders Celtic, travel to Perth on Sunday on the back of a 4-1 victory in France.

"The one thing we cannot control is the form the opponent is in when they're going to play against us," said Saints boss Valakari.

"So basically, what happened in Rangers' last match doesn't make any difference to us. Now they play against us, and we start from zero.

"What I saw from the first minute from Rangers [against Nice] was a very determined team, who has been hurting because maybe they have not got the [domestic] results.

"They wanted to show they are a good team, they are good players and they put a performance on, but that was last night and Sunday is a new game.

"For me to see them play and score those goals, it was not a surprise because you see the quality of the players and it has been maybe just a matter of time before they start collecting these goals."

Valakari is refusing to get carried away after his side's victory over Kilmarnock last time out, which ended a three-game losing run and lifted Saints to ninth in the table.

"Of course we can talk about our process and where we want to take our club, but we need the results more for the outside noise to calm a little bit, like they are doing it the right way," he added.

"We know inside what we are doing. The results we have got lately have not been what we want but we see where we are going and we work towards it.

"We know where we are, we are not now ‘Oh we win one match and everything is good.' No, we are still a work in process."

We asked for your views on Rangers' 4-1 away win against Nice in the Europa League.

Here's what some of you said:

Matthew: I liked how quickly we attacked in general, good pressing and intensity took advantage of a vulnerable defence. There is no doubt that even on a bad day, a Nice side should be better than Kilmarnock or Aberdeen, so it begs the same old questions about why they're able to do the job in these matches. The intensity dropped hugely once Cyriel Dessers was on.

Bill: Rangers seem to have two teams, albeit the same players in each. The European team plays fast, free-flowing football. The same players in the domestic league seem to lack ideas and can't break down a stubborn defence, getting caught on the break.

Alex: Great performance! So proud of the players for really going for it. I had doubts about Hamza Igamane starting, but didn't he deliver! So frustrating we can't play like that in the league. We need a big performance against St Johnstone now.

David: No sooner has a Celtic player kicked a ball and word goes out that they're worth £25m, which somehow then becomes fact. If we want the player trading model to work for us at Rangers then it's time to also start the big talk. Therefore, Igamane - he's easily worth £25m.

Peter: Yes, a really good win away from home, to be honest I didn't think we would have got four, but hey, we take that all day. Igamane must start all games. The manager said he took a risk as he's still young, but boy he proved to the manager that he merits a start before Dessers.

Steve: While Nice were poor, Rangers were composed and never looked threatened. Igamane deserves to start in Perth and I was glad to see Vaclav Cerny get rested for the last half an hour, he's our big player. We must find a way of harnessing European form and replicating it domestically. Glad points are in the bag as I expect zero against Spurs and Man Utd, but we can still make the play-offs.

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland in Nice

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Rangers' Dutch defender Robin Propper has admitted he may have underestimated the challenge of playing in the Scottish Premiership after signing in the summer from Twente Enschede.

The 31-year-old helped his side thump Nice 4-1 away from home in the Europa League on Thursday to put them eighth in the table on 10 points.

Propper and his team-mates produced another excellent European performance in stark contrast to some of their domestic displays and Propper acknowledged that personally he has been better in continental competition.

"Maybe I underestimated it [the Scottish Premiership] a little bit," he said. "Of course you know about Rangers and how big the club is, but you don't know that much about the competition.

"I took some time, played some good games and some not-so-good games. I need to be at my highest level possible again. I think you see that in European games. I can be more myself, I'm more related to the European games maybe than the Scottish ones but I think I can adjust.

"It's really different. Of course I needed time but I needed to adjust really fast because we play every three or four days.

"Sometimes it's more easy to play on the counter-attack than if you play at home at Ibrox.”

Rangers are currently sitting in one of the automatic qualification spots for the last 16 with three games to play.

But with Tottenham up next at home before a trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United in January and a final home game against Union Saint-Gilloise, Propper is not yet setting his sights on a top-eight finish.

"That’s difficult," he said. "We have a lot of big opponents coming but we want that of course. Ten points is a really good start so we can build on that."

Brilliant in Europe, brutal in Scotland.

That's the contrast Rangers have frustrated their fans with this season as they charge towards the Europa League knockout rounds while floundering in the Premiership title race.

Philippe Clement's men delivered a stunning 4-1 win over Nice in France to Thursday to sit eighth on 10 points in the Europe League standings and all but ensure a play-off spot at worst.

Scott McDermott, chief football writer for the Sunday Mail, told the BBC's Scottish football podcast: "Incredible. This Rangers team is becoming one of the great mysteries of Scottish football in terms of how they can perform so well in Europe, especially away from home, but struggle so badly domestically.

"Nice are a good team, doing well in the French top flight. Everything that we'd read and been told said they were going to be as good as Lyon, who dismantled Rangers at Ibrox earlier in the competition.

"But, my word, what a performance away from home.

"It was a thoroughly deserved win, textbook in terms of playing in the counter-attack, and Rangers could have scored even more goals.

"The contrast and performances between European and domestic is quite incredible."

On just his third Rangers start - and first in Europe - 22-year-old Moroccan forward Hamza Igamane stole the show with a fine double against Nice after being preferred to the erratic Cyriel Dessers up front.

"He certainly looked more composed in front of goal than Dessers," added McDermott.

"It was a really big night for Igamane. He had made a couple of starts for Rangers domestically and looked a million miles away from being ready, but he certainly stepped it up last night.

"It was a big gamble by Clement but it paid off. And I hope for the boy it is a big turning point for him at Rangers and in his career because he was excellent."

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• Rangers scored four or more goals in an away European game (exc qualifiers) for just the eighth time. This was the first time they’ve done so since a 4-2 win at Borussia Dortmund in February 2022.

• Hamza Igamane became the youngest Rangers player (22 years, 26 days) to score two goals in an away European game (exc qualifiers) since Davie McPherson scored four against Valletta in Malta in September 1983, aged 19.

• This was the first time Rangers had scored three goals in the first half of a European match (exc qualifiers) since November 2018 against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League.

• Nice conceded three goals in the first half of a European match for the first time in 64 years, since doing so against Real Madrid in a European Cup match in March 1960.

• Vaclav Cerny has been involved in five goals in his last three Europa League appearances (three goals, two assists). In all competitions, Cerny has seven goals and three assists in his last nine appearances.

• Rangers have scored in each of their last five games in the Europa League, netting 12 goals in that run.

The Scottish FA is poised to pay tribute to former Motherwell and Rangers winger Davie Cooper when the national side play Greece on 23 March - 30 years to the day since he died at the age of 39. (Scottish Sun), external

Shanghai Port head coach Kevin Muscat is the bookmakers' favourite to be the new Rangers manager should Philippe Clement be sacked, just ahead of fellow former Ibrox player Derek McInnes of Kilmarnock. (The Scotsman), external

Former Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst faces the sack after just five months in charge of Besiktas after his nightmare season continued with a shock 3-1 defeat by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League. (Daily Record), external

Rangers have pocketed a further £375,00 in a win bonus from Uefa from Thursday's 4-1 Europa League win away to Nice. (The National), external

Former Rangers winger Ryan Kent has paid out £375,000 for Mehmas, his second racehorse, while looking for a new club after being released by Fenerbahce. (Scottish Sun), external

Former Rangers winger Eros Grezda is rumoured to be one of the participants in the next edition of Big Brother VIP Albania. (Pamfleti), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.