James Tavernier believes Philippe Clement is facing selection headaches after returning Rangers to the top of the cinch Premiership on Sunday.
Amid a busy fixture schedule, the Belgian boss again reshuffled his pack for the tense trip to St Johnstone, this time with five changes.
The 32-year-old Gers skipper scored two late penalties to add to Mohamed Diomande’s first-half opener in the 3-0 win.
Victory moved the Light Blues above Celtic at the top of the table, after being seven points behind their Old Firm rivals when Clement took over from Michael Beale in October.
Substitutes Dujon Sterling and Tom Lawrence won the spot-kicks to allow Tavernier to score his 18th and 19th goals of the season, 120 in total since arriving in Govan in 2015.
With the league, the Scottish Cup and Europa League still available – and the Viaplay Cup already in the Ibrox trophy room – Tavernier spoke about the strength in depth of the Rangers squad.
The full-back said: “It gives us huge confidence because what people don’t see is on the training ground we are all pushing each other and everyone is asking to be in the starting 11 and anybody who is asked to come on the pitch is putting in really good performances.
“So it is a headache for the gaffer to select the XI but anyone he selects is doing a really good job for the team and that is the main thing.
“As the gaffer said, we are creating a story together and we need everyone to chip in until the end of the season.
“It is a great place for the fans and the club.
“We feed off our performances and how well we are playing as a team, not letting teams get a shot on target against us.
“That’s what we aim for – the clean sheets and the variety of chances we are creating now is really pleasing, we are always asking questions.
“The scoreline could have been more and I am delighted it was 3-0, clean sheet and on to the next one. We always had belief in our team, the players that we have.
“The gaffer came in and upped the bar with the way we are playing, the demand that he wants for us all.
“We need to continue, not become complacent and keep demanding because there is still a long way to go in the competitions we are in and we just want to make the fans happy and us happy with our performances.”
Clement talked positively about the leaders he has in the dressing room and Tavernier agrees.
“We have great leaders in the squad,” he added. “We all feed off each other and the manager believes in the leadership and we continue to amplify his message towards the lads.
“It starts every day at training, really pushing our standards but there is no place for being complacent. We need to keep pushing ourselves to be better.”
Tavernier admitted that his goals tally was unthinkable when he arrived from Wigan almost nine years ago.
“Especially as I had only eight or nine goals before I joined Rangers,” he said.
“It’s obviously a great achievement. I just want to keep helping the team and pushing myself and see where it ends when I eventually hang up my boots one day.
“I was delighted with the three points we got on Sunday as well as the clean sheet. They didn’t have a shot on goal, which is the most important thing.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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