Philippe Clement confirmed Abdallah Sima is set to be sidelined “long term” as the Rangers manager waits on the final prognosis of the striker’s injury.

The 22-year-old Senegal international, who has scored 15 goals since arriving on loan from Brighton in the summer, was sent home from the Africa Cup of Nations with a thigh problem.

The Senegal FA confirmed Sima picked up the injury in training and a statement warned he could face a “long period of unavailability.”

Clement was asked if had any further update on Sima at his media conference ahead of Wednesday’s Premiership trip to Hibernian, where Rangers will look to use one of their two games in hand on Celtic to cut the eight-point gap to the leaders.

“No, not yet and it is not that I want to keep things away from you,” said Clement.

“I expect to have more news today, tomorrow at the latest, from my medical staff and I always listen to them and not other people.

“So ask me this question after the game and then I will have the information.”

Asked if there was any indication if it would be a short-term or long-term absence, Clement replied: “It will be long term. That is also why I want to have the right information.

“Like I always say, I want to look at the glass half-full, I don’t want pity or disappointment.

“The team and squad has proven they always stand up when something happens and other players do the job and there have been really positive surprises that way so we are going to look for solutions and other surprises.”

Clement, meanwhile, refused to confirm reports that midfielder Mohamed Diomande will be arriving from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland.

So far in the winter transfer window only Fabio Silva has joined the Ibrox club, the Portuguese attacker coming on loan from Wolves.

While Clement expects to add further to his squad, he was tight-lipped about 22-year-old Diomande.

He said: “I don’t speak about many rumours because there has been how many, 50 names in the last couple of weeks?

“If you start to talk about one rumour you need to talk about the other rumours and then I am only busy about that and not making training any more or looking at players or talking to my own players, so I never do that.”

Clement also revealed that 20-year midfielder Alex Lowry will go back out on loan after returning from a temporary spell at Hearts which was cut short.

He said: “The plan is we want him to go on loan again to get minutes and come back in a good way. We will see what teams are interested and what is best for him.”

Robby McCrorie got his first Rangers start of the season against Dumbarton on Saturday and admits he wants more action.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper has played second fiddle to Jack Butland this season but was given his chance by Philippe Clement in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup fourth-round tie at a wet and wild Dumbarton stadium.

McCrorie, whose last start before this weekend was away to St Mirren in May 2023, made a good save in the first half from Michael Ruth but in the end the cinch Premiership side ran out easy 4-1 winners.

Goals from John Lundstram, Cyriel Dessers, skipper James Tavernier – from the spot – and substitute Scott Wright rendered Matthew Shiels’ goal a consolation for Stevie Farrell’s League Two side.

McCrorie, who has had loan spells at Berwick Rangers, Morton, Queen of the South and Livingston, told Rangers’ YouTube channel: “It feels like a long time. Obviously I want to be playing a lot more than I am.

“I just like the feeling that you’ve contributed, being a part of it, just playing 90 minutes.

“It’s just something I always want to do. I think everybody is the same, that’s all you want to do in football, play games so I just make sure I’m ready for whenever I’m called upon.

“I’m not going to lie, I don’t enjoy not playing.

“I do want to be playing every week but you can’t go in a huff, you do need to be ready all the time.

“So I take a lot of pride in working hard every day, giving everything in training because I think when you do that and you come into games, you’re more comfortable and you’re ready for it.”

Rangers return to cinch Premiership duty against Hibernian at Easter Road on Wednesday night.

The Light Blues, who had a January training camp in Spain, are eight points behind league leaders Celtic but have two games in hand.

McCrorie said: “The last couple of weeks we’ve got in a lot of training but it is to set us up for the next few months.

“It will be relentless, it will be non-stop, there will be games every three days again and there is a lot to look forward to.”

Hearts have decided to terminate the season-long loan deal of Rangers midfielder Alex Lowry.

The 20-year-old moved to Tynecastle at the start of August in search of more regular game time but he struggled to nail down a starting berth in Steven Naismith’s team.

Lowry made 17 appearances in total for the Jambos but only 12 as a starter. His best moment in a maroon jersey came in late September when he scored a late winner away to Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup.

The Ibrox academy graduate, who has been troubled by a back issue recently, started only two of Hearts’ last eight matches before the winter break.

The Tynecastle club were unable to guarantee him the game time he needs to accelerate his development and have taken the decision to send him back to Ibrox prematurely.

“We took the decision to end the loan with Alex’s best interests in mind,” Naismith told Hearts’ website on Friday evening.

“There is absolutely no doubting Alex’s talents as a player and he’s shown in periods what he’s capable of doing on the pitch.

“But with the competition for places fierce in our squad, he’s probably not going to get the game time that would allow him to develop further, which is one of the reasons he was here in the first place.

“I’ve no doubt he’ll go on to become a top player. He’s a great boy, we thank him for all his efforts at Hearts and wish him well for the future.”

Rangers are now likely to look for another club for Lowry to join for the remainder of the campaign.

The midfielder made a big impact when he burst into the Rangers first team under Giovanni Van Bronckhorst two years ago and he was rewarded in May 2022 with a new contract until the summer of 2025, but so far he has failed to kick on the way the Ibrox club hoped.

Philippe Clement insists he will not be left short in the left-back position for the season’s run-in amid speculation about Ridvan Yilmaz’s future.

Reports claim the Ibrox club rejected a loan-to-buy offer in the region of €4m (£3.4million) from Galatasaray for the 22-year-old Turkey international, who has also been linked with Hellas Verona.

The Light Blues’ other left-back, fit-again Borna Barisic, is out of contract at the end of the season.

Speaking after the 2-2 friendly draw with FC Copenhagen at Ibrox – where goals from Rabbi Matondo and Cyriel Dessers was cancelled by a Kevin Diks header and a Johnly Yfeko own goal – the Rangers boss addressed the speculation about Yilmaz.

Clement also revealed that the injury midfielder Kieran Dowell picked up in the club’s January training camp in Spain is set to keep him out for two months.

Clement said: “For every player at Rangers, if there comes an offer that cannot be refused or is a good thing for the club then we need to discuss it.

“At the moment that is not the case. Ridvan is here and he started the game.

“We will see. Players also need to show they really want to be here in the next couple of months.

“We need to be prepared for everything, for every position also and make sure that we have solutions.

“That is one position that we have two players. One is end of contract, the other one there is a lot of rumours around.

“So it is clear that we need to be ready for that position. We cannot go on in three competitions with one left full-back. That is correct. And in other positions it is the same.”

Clement was pleased to see Ryan Jack, Tom Lawrence and Barisic get some game time in the second half against the Danish side after recovering from their respective injuries but Dowell is a concern.

The midfielder has made just 11 appearances for the Light Blues since joining on a free transfer from Norwich this summer.

Ahead of the Scottish Cup tie against Dumbarton on Saturday, Clement said: “Kieran Dowell was not here because he got injured in La Manga.

“He will be out for several weeks, I think around two months.

“That’s long term and that’s a big blow.”

Former Rangers full-back Alan Hutton believes Josh Doig would be an ideal solution to the Ibrox club’s impending decisions at left-back.

Borna Barisic is out of contract in the summer and has been linked with a return to Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb.

Ridvan Yilmaz has struggled for game time since arriving in the summer of 2022 but has impressed in recent weeks amid the absence of the injured Barisic.

However, the Turkey international has been linked with a switch to Hellas Verona, where Doig has plied his trade since moving from Hibernian to Italy.

Doig is also the subject of reported interest from Torino and Udinese and Hutton believes the 21-year-old would be a good fit at Ibrox.

“I thought that he was a player that both teams in Glasgow would have looked at before he left,” the former Scotland international said.

“He had all the attributes to be a modern-day full-back – physically strong, can get up and down the pitch, an attacking full-back and that’s how Rangers like to play.

“He would come back a better player having played in Italy and you’d think defensively, he would be learning week in, week out. I think he would do a really good job.

“It looks like Barisic will be out of contract at the end of the season. Yilmaz was looking like the guy who was going to take over from him but he has been a little bit in and out. But he has had some really good performances the last few games.

“It was interesting to watch him against Kilmarnock. He played a little more inside the pitch. He has come on to a game and if he was to go, they have to bring someone in.”

Hutton believes up front is the key transfer priority for Philippe Clement with Cyriel Dessers struggling to win over the Rangers fans and Danilo and Kemar Roofe missing much of the campaign so far through injury.

Sam Lammers is another attacking summer signing who has struggled to make an impact and he has been linked with a move to Utrecht.

Hutton, who was promoting the upcoming Scottish Gas Scottish Cup fourth-round fixtures, which see Rangers travel to Dumbarton, has been encouraged by manager Clement’s impact, having only lost to Celtic since replacing Michael Beale.

“You can’t not be impressed,” he said. “Winning the League Cup and getting into the last 16 of the Europa League by winning that group was massive for them.

“But just in general, their play has changed under the new manager. The only blip was against Celtic.

“Rangers are closing the gap in my opinion. It’s not as big as it was in previous seasons. It’s close now, it’s small margins between them – as we saw in the Old Firm game.

“The small margins are in the forward line, that’s the difference between the two teams. You see the likes of Kyogo (Furuhashi). He is a big-time player, he gets those opportunities and puts them in the back of the bet more often than not.

“If Rangers can get someone in who can do that, as well as what they have, I think they will be in a good place.”

:: Hutton was speaking at a press event organised by Scottish Gas, proud partners of the men’s and women’s Scottish Cups.

The Scottish Football Association has hit back at Rangers as the row over a non-penalty incident at Celtic Park continues.

Celtic defender Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside the area in the first half of the cinch Premiership clash at Parkhead on December 30 while under pressure from Gers forward Abdallah Sima.

Referee Nick Walsh pointed for a goal kick and the decision was confirmed by VAR official Willie Collum following a check.

It later emerged through Sky Sports – broadcasting the match live – that there had been an offside in the build-up and Rangers claimed that was never mentioned during the VAR analysis.

The Ibrox club called on the SFA to release the audio of the incident and following a meeting with the governing body on Wednesday, Rangers said there was “an overriding consensus the VAR decision of no handball was incorrect”.

The Govan club also added they were “deeply concerned” by the speed of the decision and there were reports that the club had requested that Collum not be involved in Rangers games going forward.

However, in a lengthy statement the SFA said: “The Scottish FA is disappointed by contents of the most recent statement issued by Rangers.

“Chief executive James Bisgrove and director of football operations Creag Robertson attended a private briefing with the head of referee operations, Crawford Allan, to review the incident in question, including the use of matchday audio.

“We understood from the chief executive that the meeting had been constructive and informative, and conducted amicably. This does not appear to be reflected in the club’s statement.

“During the meeting, it was pointed out that the incident in question was a subjective handball and that the VAR did not deem it a sufficiently clear and obvious error to refer to on-field review.

“Furthermore, the offside would not have been mentioned at the time as it was not part of the VAR’s decision-making on the handball.

“It was highlighted within Clydesdale House that had the VAR considered the incident to be a handball offence and asked the referee to carry out an on-field review, the attacking phase of play would have been checked and an offside would have been identified.

“This supplementary information was relayed to broadcasters in-game, and we are reviewing the process of information dissemination to avoid any perceived ambiguity in future.

“There was an overall consensus that the incident could not have led to a penalty kick being awarded in any event, and that there was no impact on the final outcome of the match.”

The statement continued: “Since the summer, we have ensured that key match incidents [KMI] are reviewed and shared with all clubs after every full round of Premiership fixtures, including use of audio.

“We will continue to do this, along with KMI being shared with the independent review panel for their consideration and opinion.

“Finally, we note posts from a recent official media partner of the club’s detailing requests from the private meeting that were immediately rejected.

“We would ask that club representatives show greater responsibility in such matters, especially in the context of recent incidents in European football that have compromised the safety of match officials and led to widespread condemnation.”

The latter comments comes after former MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca was recently given a permanent suspension for punching referee Halil Umut Meler after his side’s draw with Caykur Rizespor in the Turkish Super Lig.

Philippe Clement is “still curious” about the potential of Rangers after they went into the winter break with a bounce-back 3-1 win over Kilmarnock and still on the heels of Celtic.

The Belgian had lost his first game as Gers boss since taking over in October in the narrow 2-1 Old Firm defeat at Parkhead on Saturday but late first-half goals from wide-men Ross McCausland and Abdallah Sima at Ibrox on Tuesday had the Light Blues in control at the break.

Danny Armstrong reduced the deficit in the 58th minute with a penalty awarded after VAR intervention but Todd Cantwell soon restored the two-goal cushion to keep them eight points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic with two games in hand.

The Gers players will enjoy a few days off before going to Spain for a training camp next week.

Clement has already brought the Viaplay Cup back to Ibrox and guided the club into the last 16 of the Europa League and was asked about the potential of his squad.

He said: “I am still curious. I am happy that you speak now about the potential of this team.

“Eleven weeks ago, I heard a lot of people saying there was not potential enough in this team to do what Rangers needs to do.

“So it is positive that so many players are  growing, and that is what I want to see. I will keep a close eye, together with my staff, on who are the players staying ambitious, who are the players who are pushing. There are a lot of good examples in that way.

“You have a young lad (Ross McCausland)  who was just in the academy and now he is playing really regular in the first team because he is performing.

“Kieran Dowell, Dujon Sterling, who are now playing in other positions. They have done that for the team, or else they wouldn’t play.

“So, I think this team is in a really good way. The dressing room also.

“The atmosphere every day within the building, with the training, the ambition in the training.

“After our first defeat, which we knew would come one day, the reaction was how I wanted it. We looked at what we had to do to make good, to analyse what went wrong, what we could do better.

“I’m happy that everybody is saying they see a different team now with more of a winning mentality.

“I see more and more quality and that the team understands better and better how I want to see football, how I want to see them run together, how I want them to create spaces for other players. It becomes more and more fluid.

“If the players keep on working, stay attentive, stay concentrated then after a while it becomes more natural for them.

“So there are really positive things. It’s not about being satisfied. It’s about being ambitious to get better.”

Philippe Clement was left puzzled after Rangers conceded a rare penalty in the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox.

The Ibrox club had called for more transparency over VAR’s interpretation of handball after there had been no spot-kick awarded after the ball had come off Celtic defender Alistair Johnston’s hand inside the box in the 2-1 defeat at Parkhead on Saturday.

Rangers were leading 2-0 against fourth-place Killie through goals by Ross McCausland and Abdallah Sima when VAR called for a penalty check after Rory McKenzie’s cross struck the arm of Gers defender John Souttar inside the box.

Referee John Beaton went to his pitchside monitor and then pointed to the spot, with Danny Armstrong giving Jack Butland no chance before Todd Cantwell restored the two-goal lead to keep the Light Blues eight points behind Celtic with two games in hand.

It was the first penalty Rangers had conceded in 75 cinch Premiership matches since Lewis Ferguson netted for Aberdeen in a 1-1 draw in January 2022

Clement told Rangers TV: “The only downside for me is that I cannot explain to my players anymore what is handball and what is not after this game if we get a penalty against like this and a goal against like this three days after what happened at Celtic Park.

“I can’t give them an explanation and that’s different as a manager when you cannot give an explanation.

“It’s not easy. Afterwards, we can laugh and it’s not a big difference, it’s 3-0 or 3-1.

“Just for the future, it needs to be clear for everybody what is handball and what is not handball and these two situations it’s a little bit bizarre.”

Philippe Clement told his Rangers players to enjoy their upcoming break after bouncing back from their Old Firm defeat to beat Kilmarnock 3-1 at Ibrox

The Belgian had lost his first game as Gers boss since taking over in October in the narrow 2-1 loss at Celtic Park on Saturday but late first-half goals against Killie from wide-men Ross McCausland and Abdallah Sima had the Light Blues in control at the break.

The visitors refused to buckle and Danny Armstrong reduced the deficit in the 58th minute with a penalty awarded after VAR intervention.

It was the first penalty Rangers had conceded in 75 cinch Premiership matches since Lewis Ferguson netted for Aberdeen in a 1-1 draw in January 2022.

However, Todd Cantwell soon restored the two-goal cushion to keep the pressure on leaders Celtic going in to the winter break, where they will have a few days off before going to Spain for a training camp next week.

Clement, looking back to qualifying for the Europa League last 16 with a win away to Real Betis before winning the Viaplay Cup final against Aberdeen days later, said: “I said it also in the opposite way after the win in Betis. Three days later we then had to be there again and performing under all the pressure to win a trophy after so many years.

“They showed resilience, concentration, ambition and today they showed that also.

“This is one of the dangerous games where you’d be disappointed not to win. It’s a few hours away from going on a break.

“It’s the festive time where all the family are around you having a good time with drinks, food and a good life.

“The players had to recover really fast and then perform. But they are doing that.

“They are on the right road. They understand my story, which is also important. This is that life is much better when you are ambitious every day.

“If you go in satisfied about what you did, then you go down.

“I told them in the dressing room they can switch off for a few days. Of course they need to do their programme.

“They cannot let their body do nothing for five or six days and then have a hard training camp, because then you’re at risk of injuries.

“But outside of that they really need to switch off and enjoy their time with their families.”

Killie boss Derek McInnes watched midfielder Liam Donnelly go off early with a hamstring problem but he is focused on bringing in a striker in the transfer window.

He said: “We are a wee bit short in the midfield at the minute.

“We have three significant injuries so we will see how those play out over the next couple of weeks and we are only looking to try to do one bit of business,  we are trying to bring in a forward player, other than that I am happy with the squad.

“I want  us to get back on the horse really quickly when we come back and set about the task. I am really encouraged with what I am getting from these lads.

“The message at half-time was can we win the second half, get the next goal, don’t go under, make sure we stick together and stick to what we want to do.

“The spirit in the team was terrific, everything I expected from them.

“We have been on a good run of late and clearly there are improvements in the side. We get a goal back and we just needed to keep it at 2-1 for longer.”

Rangers have requested that the audio of the VAR penalty incident in the 2-1 defeat at Celtic be released by the Scottish Football Association.

Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside his own box in the first half of the cinch Premiership encounter at Parkhead under pressure from Gers attacker Abdallah Sima.

A goal-kick was awarded by referee Nick Walsh and the check by VAR official Willie Collum for handball came to nothing but it later emerged through Sky Sports, who were broadcasting the match live, that there had been an offside in the build-up.

Gers boss Philippe Clement said afterwards: “There was no communication towards me. And if the communication is that Sima is offside, I’m not a referee – but there should have been a clear signal from VAR for offside.”

A Rangers spokesperson said: “Rangers have asked the Scottish FA to make the VAR audio available to the club to understand why no penalty was awarded despite a clear handball by Celtic’s Alistair Johnston.

“The club is keen to understand the process that led to that decision being made as it was not made public at the time, nor communicated to our team.

“We also understand Sky, as the league’s official broadcaster, is deeply unhappy and confused with the situation.

“Their panel spent half-time in agreement Rangers should have been awarded a penalty, unaware of any offside check. Again, this only surfaced in the second half.

“Rangers remains advocates of VAR, but there must be significantly more transparency for it to be successful in Scotland.”

Philippe Clement questioned the VAR process which ruled out a penalty claim in Rangers’ 2-1 defeat by Celtic at Parkhead.

Leading through a Paulo Bernardo goal in the first half, Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside his own penalty area under pressure from Abdallah Sima.

The VAR check for handball came to nothing but it later emerged that Sima had been offside in the build-up.

Kyogo Furuhashi added a second just after the break before Rangers defender Leon Balogun was shown a straight red by referee Nick Walsh for denying Daizen Maeda a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Gers skipper James Tavernier curled in a wonderful free-kick in the 88th minute to make it an anxious ending for Celtic, who moved eight points clear of their Old Firm rivals at the top of the table having played two games more.

It was a first defeat for the Belgian in 17 games as Rangers boss and he was left perplexed.

“My biggest frustration isn’t Cyriel Dessers missing a chance because (Erling) Haaland and (Kylian) Mbappe miss chances like that,” said Clement, who claims he was handed a yellow card during the game “for reacting too hard on a ball that was clearly ours given to the other side”.

“My biggest frustration is that if there’s a clear handball, I don’t understand why it’s not a penalty given.

“It’s a clear thing so I’m curious about it.

“There was no communication towards me. And if the communication is that Sima is offside, I’m not a referee but there should have been a clear signal from VAR for offside.

“Then everyone knows the decision. There was no communication at that moment.

“Otherwise, the signal of the referee is not correct. So there’s been a mistake and it’s clear for everyone to see.

“I also make mistakes but it’s an expensive one today.”

Clement was not displeased with the way his side performed in a stadium which had home fans only amid an allocation dispute between the two clubs.

He said: “The match was a good promotion for Scottish football with two teams who wanted to win, attacked and created chances.

“I need to look at my side and I’m happy with what they showed me today.

“We had more shots than Celtic but we didn’t take our moments.

“They were more efficient on the day and when games are in the balance like that, you can lose them.

“It could have been a draw, we could have won it. But the circumstances weren’t on our side.

“My team reacted in the second half, even after a world-class goal to make it 2-0. It’s a very good goal and you can’t do too many things about it.

“But we never stopped, even with 10 men. We kept going and created enough chances to score our goal and others. We went until the end and everyone here became nervous.”

Celtic beat Rangers 2-1 at Parkhead to consolidate their place at the top of the cinch Premiership.

Brilliant strikes from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi put the hosts into a commanding position which seemed to be strengthened by Leon Balogun’s red card.

However, James Tavernier’s superb free-kick sparked a late fightback from Rangers in an exciting finale.

Here are five things we learned from the final Glasgow derby of 2023.

Don’t write off Kyogo Furuhashi

The Japan striker had only scored twice in his previous 14 matches but continued his impressive record against Rangers when he swept a magnificent effort into the top corner from 22 yards. The pass looked on but he showed he had lost none of his confidence as he netted his seventh goal in his last six starts in the derby.

Maik Nawrocki was ready

The Polish centre-back had not featured at all since suffering a hamstring injury in the third game of the season. But the summer signing was called into action in the 35th minute after Stephen Welsh damaged a shoulder while deputising for the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers. Nawrocki delivered an excellent display as he made some key interventions.

VAR from perfect communication

The half-time talking point was a penalty claim for Rangers after Alistair Johnston clearly handballed and video assistant referee Willie Collum checked the incident without calling Nick Walsh to his monitor. It was well into the second half before word got to broadcasters Sky Sports that Abdallah Sima was offside in the build-up to the incident. The communication to fans and armchair viewers should be a lot clearer.

Paulo Bernardo settles in

The on-loan Benfica midfielder prodded home his first goal for Celtic on Boxing Day at Dundee but his second was far more memorable. The 21-year-old had already come close twice before producing brilliant technique to arrow a volley home. Bernardo appears to be adapting to Scottish football after getting most of his early appearances for Celtic in the Champions League.

Plenty to work with for Philippe Clement

The Rangers manager pointed out his side had more shots than their hosts and ultimately lost to a “world-class” strike from Furuhashi, after the first defeat of his Ibrox reign. The way his side pushed Celtic with 10 men and the imminent arrival of Wolves forward Fabio Silva will give him plenty of encouragement. Rangers can move two points behind Celtic by winning their two games in hand and the title race will very much be on if they immediately rediscover their recent form.

Brendan Rodgers outlined his impressive Old Firm credentials after Celtic handed Philippe Clement his first defeat as Rangers boss with a 2-1 win at Parkhead.

The Belgian was unbeaten in 16 games since taking over from Michael Beale in October, which offered encouragement travelling to the east end of Glasgow – albeit with no away fans in the stadium due to a ticket dispute between the two clubs.

Celtic had stumbled recently with defeats against Kilmarnock and Hearts but goals from midfielder Paulo Bernardo and striker Kyogo Furuhashi came before Rangers defender Leon Balogun was sent off for denying Daizen Maeda a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Gers skipper James Tavernier fired in a free-kick in the 88th minute to make it a nervy ending for the home side, who held on to move eight points clear having played two games more.

Rodgers has now won 12 and lost just one of his 15 Old Firm derbies, having faced five permanent Rangers managers – Clement, Beale, Steven Gerrard, Mark Warburton and Pedro Caixinha.

“Over my two spells here I have worked against five Rangers managers and every time Rangers were coming,” said Rodgers, who revealed defender Stephen Welsh injured a shoulder before he was taken off.

“So for me it’s normal. If I listened to media and press then we would be in constant crisis mode and constant fear of Rangers.

“But it’s the fifth manager now. So for me my focus is only on Celtic and concentrating very much on here and a lot of the stuff that maybe does go around, thankfully I ignore it.

“We showed today that with a team still missing key players, and players who will make the difference for us, that we are competitive and we can play football and we can compete. And that is what we will continually do.

“There is no doubt Philippe has improved Rangers. He’s come in, he has used his experience and common sense. He has set the team up well. They are competitive and they play as a team.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge for us. We had to take on the challenge and that is what I have always done when I’ve been here.”

Asked if he expect to be stronger after the winter break, the former Liverpool and Leicester boss said: “We will be. (Reo) Hatate is back involved today, in a different stage of the game we could have given him some game time.

“(Liel) Abada coming back makes a difference for us, he is a goalscorer. Other players will come back, Cameron Carter-Vickers will be ready after the break.

“And hopefully we can add to the squad. I would expect us to be better.”

On the game itself, Rodgers said: “It was as you expect from these games, very tense and an amazing atmosphere.

“I felt we deserved to win the game. We did well with (Rangers’) quite direct approach at times, trying to put pressure onto our back four.

“But they were coming into the game with confidence. I thought in the spells we had when we moved the ball around – which was difficult because the pitch is difficult, I have to say – I thought particularly after the second goal we were very, very good in the game without too many scares.”

Philippe Clement’s first Old Firm game ended in his first defeat as Rangers boss as goals from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi gave Celtic a 2-1 win at Parkhead.

The Belgian had gone 16 games unbeaten since taking over from Michael Beale in October but with no away fans inside the ground due to an allocation dispute between the two clubs it was always going to be the acid test for the injury-hit visitors.

The Ibrox side started the game positively before Hoops midfielder Bernardo scored after 25 minutes, with the Gers missing at least a couple of good chances to level.

Celtic’s prolific striker Furuhashi curled in a second from 20 yards less than two minutes after the restart and there was more woe for the Light Blues in the 71st minute when defender Leon Balogun was shown a straight red card by referee Nick Walsh for denying Daizen Maeda a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Rangers hung on and skipper James Tavernier fired in a wonderful free-kick in the 88th minute but the comeback could not be completed in eight added minutes.

Brendan Rodgers’ side move eight points clear of their Glasgow neighbours at the top of the cinch Premiership and despite having played two games more, the victory could be the springboard to yet another title win.

It was wall-to-wall green and white inside the packed out 60,000-capacity stadium for the lunchtime kick-off and as expected, Hoops centre-back Stephen Welsh replaced the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers with fit-again duo Reo Hatate and Liel Abada back on the bench.

Defender Connor Goldson shrugged off a groin issue and John Lundstram returned to the midfield for Rangers, who gave as good as they got in the early stages.

But in the 12th minute, as the game began to ebb and flow, Bernardo headed a Luis Palma cross past the far post.

Rangers were getting behind the Celtic defence but could not capitalise, with Abdallah Sima’s wild drive over from the edge of the box after 20 minutes a prime example.

Bernardo drove just past the post from a similar distance but moments later, when Palma’s corner from the right ended up at his feet 16 yards out via the head of Sima, the on-loan Benfica player volleyed it powerfully past Gers keeper Jack Butland.

However, there was was huge let-off for the home side on the half-hour mark.

A slack pass from Parkhead full-back Alastair Johnson saw Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers dispossess Welsh to go through against keeper Joe Hart – but inexplicably he refused to shoot and allowed Johnston to get back with a recovery tackle.

Welsh had injured his shoulder in Dessers’ tackle and was immediately replaced by Maik Nawrocki, whose last game was in August.

Ross McCausland and Todd Cantwell both had efforts for the Govan side which should have brought a leveller, and then Clement was shown a yellow card.

There was a possible Rangers penalty for a Johnston handball which came to nothing after a VAR check, with an earlier offside against Sima cited.

The Light Blues would have considered themselves unfortunate to still be behind at the break but in the 47th minute Furuhashi took a pass just outside the box from Matt O’Riley and bent an unstoppable shot past the helpless Butland to totally change the complexion of the encounter.

Kieran Dowell replaced Cantwell and Scott Wright took over from Sima as Clement tried something new while David Turnbull came on for Bernardo just before Balogun was dismissed for taking Maeda down as he raced clear on goal, with centre-back John Souttar coming on for Lundstram in a reshuffle.

However, after a third Celtic goal did not arrive, Tavernier set up a nervy ending when he curled a trademark free-kick from 20 yards past the flailing Hart at his near post.

It was an anxious end to the game for the home fans as Rangers went all out for the leveller, but ultimately to no avail.

Cyriel Dessers says scoring a winning goal for Rangers at Celtic Park on Saturday would be a dream come true for him.

The 29-year-old Nigeria striker had a slow start to his Gers career after joining from Cremonese in the summer but he will travel to Parkhead with increasing confidence after four goals in his last seven games, taking his tally in Light Blue to nine so far.

Dessers admits an Old Firm derby clincher in boss Philippe Clement’s first experience of the fixture would be “amazing” as Rangers go in to the match five points behind the league leaders but with two games in hand.

He said: “It would be a dream actually.

“When you sign here, you know the city, you know the clubs, you know the Old Firm.

“To score there as a striker, that is something you dream of as a kid and hopefully tomorrow it will be my first in an Old Firm game.

“The start was pretty rocky, individually and as a team. You can see if you look at the results in the last two months that things have been improving and that we are in a good place right now.

“As a team, we are playing more fluidly now. We have more attacks rolling, more chances.

“For myself, I have got a little bit more confidence and in better form. I am still growing and there is a lot more to come.

“As a striker, you know how it works, once you get the goals flowing then you can follow them up and normally they keep going.”