Philippe Clement declared he wants to build a “machine” at Rangers as he prepares for the Europa League clash with Sparta Prague at Ibrox on Thursday night.

The Belgian is unbeaten in five games since taking over as Gers boss from Michael Beale, with the only blip a goalless draw against the Czech side in Prague last month.

Rangers secured a Viaplay Cup final date with Aberdeen courtesy of a “positive” 3-1 victory over Hearts at Hampden Park on Sunday, and Clement is wanting more.

“It is just the start,” said the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss, who revealed winger Scott right was a “serious doubt” with a muscle injury but striker Kemar Roofe will return to the squad despite being only able to contribute “five or 10 minutes”.

“For me a good team is a team that does it for months.

“And of course there will be one moment where it will be less (a dip) but the next game there is a reaction.

“Of course I am happy with the way things are going but I am not sitting on the sofa and thinking now we can let everything loose and the machine will go.

“I want to create a machine and I think it is possible with this group to create a machine that goes every time but we are not there yet.

“We are in the building period, not just observing. I don’t know everyone really well at the moment in every circumstances.

“I want to see how players react with the first disappointment or play a really good game and the next game they don’t start.

“I seen that in the semi-final. There were players who played a really good game a few games before (against Dundee) and then didn’t play in the semi-final. How is their reaction?

“So I need an observation period for a few weeks, a few months to get the details of everybody and get the best out of everybody.

“Do I need to slap them more or be nice more? It is different for every player.”

After three Group C fixtures, Spanish side Real Betis sit top on six points with Sparta Prague and Rangers on four and Cypriot side Aris Limassol on three.

Clement said: “European nights are always something special, they have always been.

“I love it and I hope it is a really positive atmosphere in the stadium.

“I always want to win and I want a team that always wants to win, if it is against Prague or Real Madrid, it doesn’t matter to me.

“I want a team who is ambitious and wants to win the game, I am not looking for a draw but it can be that at the end of the section that a draw is also important. But we are going for three points.”

Defenders Leon Balogun and Ridvan Yilmaz were not named in Rangers’ European squad and thus drop out.

Midfielder Nicolas Raskin (ankle) and defender John Souttar (muscle problem) remain out but Clement hopes they will return after the international break.

Aberdeen have expressed their “extreme disappointment and frustration” after their “robust” case for a 50-50 split of tickets for the Viaplay Cup final was rejected.

The Scottish Professional Football League has announced that Rangers will receive about 25,000 tickets – roughly half the capacity of Hampden – but the Dons will only be allocated up to 19,500 seats for the December 17 showpiece.

An Aberdeen statement read: “The club robustly put its case to the SPFL to treat both teams fairly with an even share of tickets, given Hampden is a neutral venue and, as such, presented an option that would split the allocation for the match evenly between both competing finalists.

“Much to our extreme disappointment and frustration, this proposal was rejected by the SPFL, who cited operational challenges and attendances at previous semi-finals/finals as the principal reasons for their determination.”

Aberdeen had proposed that they hold back five sections of the North Stand and hand back tickets to pass on to Rangers by a certain date if the demand among their fans was not evident.

An SPFL spokesperson said:  “Deciding ticketing allocations for cup finals is always a challenging task, as more fans invariably want to attend than the stadium can accommodate.

“We take a range of factors into consideration, including the number of tickets each club sells in the semi-finals, as well as their historic ticket sales in any previous League Cup finals and semi-finals.

“In addition, the design of the stadium and its ability to split sections is a major factor which influences our decisions, together with input from safety and security authorities to ensure fan safety and appropriate segregation.”

The league added that the split was broadly the same configuration as Aberdeen’s previous League Cup final appearance against Celtic five years ago.

There were 28,295 fans at the semi-final between Aberdeen and Hibernian.

The Dons were confident of selling a 50 per cent allocation given they took 43,000 supporters to Celtic Park when they last won the League Cup in 2014 by beating Inverness in the final.

Stephen Kingsley claims he was confident VAR would save him from the red card he was initially handed in Hearts’ 3-1 Viaplay Cup semi-final defeat by Rangers at Hampden Park.

The Light Blues were leading through a James Tavernier double, one from the spot, and a Scott Wright drive when referee Nick Walsh introduced another layer of drama to the occasion.

With around 10 minutes remaining Walsh showed already-booked Kingsley a second yellow and a red card for diving inside the Rangers box.

However, VAR intervened and after checking his pitch side monitor, Walsh deemed Gers substitute Ben Davies had tripped Kingsley and rescinded the second yellow and pointed to the spot, with Lawrence Shankland slotting in the penalty.

Kingsley said: “I got in front of my man and as soon as I got the touch on the ball I felt the contact on my left ankle so I knew it was a penalty.

“When he gave the second yellow I was very confident, I knew it was a penalty.

“I was hoping that VAR would do its job and thankfully it did.

“Nick Walsh said at the end of the game that he was glad that the right decision was arrived at and I said that’s what it’s there for.

“But right now we are disappointed with the result.”

Lawrence Shankland declared Sunday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final showdown with Rangers a “win at all costs” encounter as he looked forward to his first trip to Hampden with Hearts.

The Jambos skipper began his senior career playing regularly at the national stadium when he spent time on loan at Queen’s Park more than a decade ago, while he has also represented Scotland there.

The 28-year-old’s only experience of a big cup match at Hampden came when he played in Dundee United’s 2-0 defeat to Hibernian in the 2021 Scottish Cup semi-final – a result that still irks him.

Shankland is hoping his previous experiences at the famous old ground in Glasgow’s southside can help him reach the first major final of his career this weekend.

“It will be great to lead the team out at Hampden, I’m really looking forward to that part and hopefully we can get ourselves to a final,” he said.

“Last time I was at Hampden I was at Dundee United and we lost in a semi-final and that still annoys me. It’s my first experience going with Hearts and it’s one I’m looking forward to.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play there quite a lot in my career with Scotland and at club level as well so it’s a stadium I’m used to. Quite a lot of the boys have got the experience before of being at Hampden so hopefully we can use that on the day.”

Asked to sum up what is required from Hearts on Sunday, Shankland said: “Win at all costs. That’s it for us. The task is simple. It’s a big occasion at the national stadium and it’s just all about winning.”

Hearts face Rangers a week after they almost beat them in the cinch Premiership. The Jambos led 1-0 for most of the match and looked on course for a rare Ibrox victory before conceding two late goals to lose 2-1. Shankland believes that experience will stand them in good stead for Sunday.

“We’re coming off the back of a good performance at Ibrox last weekend, albeit the last 10 minutes didn’t go to plan,” he said. “Apart from that it was really good and we can take the positives from that into this game. There was a lot to be happy with.

“Obviously the mistakes we made at the end were probably a reminder of how much you need to concentrate against teams as dangerous as Rangers.

“It takes full concentration for every minute you’re on the pitch so we can use last week as a reminder and make sure it’s in our heads at all points in the match.”

Rangers manager Philippe Clement played down the significance of an early trophy win for himself as he prepares for the Viaplay Cup semi-final against Hearts on Sunday.

The Belgian is unbeaten in four games since taking over as Gers boss from Michael Beale last month and in general the early signs have been encouraging for Light Blues fans, who watched their side thrash Dundee 5-0 away in the cinch Premiership on Wednesday night.

A victory over the Jambos at Hampden Park would set up a Viaplay Cup final meeting in December against either Aberdeen or Hibernian, with the chance of winning the first available silverware of the season.

However, the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco manager insists he is not preoccupied with personal glory.

Clement said: “No, honestly I am totally not busy with that.

“I do this job because I love to do things with people together.  I love to make players better, to guide them and to put my passion as a player into other people, because my body can’t do that on the pitch anymore.

“I’m not busy with my career and where I want to go. I have won trophies in my career, but the satisfaction is having this with the players and staff.

“I love the joy football can give people, like in Dundee after the final whistle you see all these people so happy.

“That is why I love to be a manager, with my players, staff and supporters. It’s about that, not my personal thing.”

Clement stressed the importance of football courage throughout his squad as he looked for further improvement on the back of a convincing win on Tayside.

He said: “I want my players to be ambitious, the medals will come if you do the correct things.

“We need to be brave and not be afraid to make mistakes – it is important how you react afterwards and that is what I want to give to my players.

“As a coach, you need to invest in your players and see the qualities they have and build on this.

“You need to see potential and give them the tools to develop themselves.

“I want my players to be ambitious to become better. It’s not like it was a perfect performance (in Dundee).

“We can do things better than this performance. But you see they’re starting to understand the story we want to do so it becomes more fluid.

“Also, more players stepping in and getting experience in how to move together, what to do with and without the ball. We need to strengthen the team and let them grow like this.”

Tony Docherty revealed his Dundee players are back in a “buoyant” mood following their comprehensive midweek defeat by Rangers as they prepare for the visit of Livingston on Sunday.

The Dark Blues lost 5-0 at home to the Light Blues on Wednesday night and their first loss in five games left them ninth in the cinch Premiership, one point ahead of second-bottom Livi whom they beat 2-0 in West Lothian last weekend.

The Gers match was delayed by 45 minutes after the Rangers team bus was held up in traffic and then suspended for 18 minutes after the travelling fans let off a large number of flares that triggered fire alarms under the stand.

Boss Docherty has consigned an unusual evening to history to concentrate on Livi and the challenges they will present.

He said: “We’ve addressed that, we’ve analysed it and we move on from it. It’s now Livingston at home and our sole focus is on that.

“I think the way we can identify that was this morning’s training.

“They came in the door and as a result of the game the other night, they are not feeling the best but when they leave they’re feeling really good about themselves.

“We had a really good training session and we’ve done a session analysing the game and they went back out the door all fully prepared for that Livingston game.

“So I think you can gauge it that way, the way the players are, and they were really buoyant going out the door after a healthy training day.”

Docherty’s newly-promoted side lost 3-0 to Celtic last month before going on a four-game unbeaten run against Kilmarnock, Hibernian, Ross County and Livingston and he is looking for a similar reaction following the loss to the other half of the Old Firm.

He said: “I would say the Rangers game was probably below the standard that the players have set.

“The last time we had a game against Celtic we lost 3-0 and I said to the players, these Old Firm games won’t determine our fate, but it is important how we react.

“After the Celtic game, we had a draw at Easter Road, a draw at home to Ross County and we beat Livingston so the reaction from the last game against one of the Old Firm was really good and so I am hoping and confident I will get the same reaction from the players this time.”

Philippe Clement railed against the notion that his side could be extra motivated by the prospect of winning a trophy ahead of their Viaplay Cup semi-final against Hearts.

The Light Blues have not won the competition since March 2011 and if they get past the Jambos at Hampden Park on Sunday they will face either Aberdeen or Hibernian in the December final, where the first piece of silverware of the season will be up for grabs.

Clement, unbeaten in three games since taking over as boss from Michael Beale last month, had no time for the idea that his players will have additional hunger when they come up against a side that, coincidentally, they beat 2-1 in the cinch Premiership at Ibrox last weekend.

“I hate this ‘extra motivation’,” said the Belgian. “I want that they are motivated for everything. So, if I think, ‘oh, now they are motivated for the semi-final because we can win a cup’, it’s totally the wrong message.

“They need to be motivated every day, every game to show the best of themselves.

“A football career is so short for them, it goes so fast that they need to be motivated to take the best out if every day, they have the best life in the world and that’s what I want to see from my players. And then the other things follow.”

Clement revealed that defender Ben Davies remains a doubt with a “small problem” after missing the 5-0 win at Dundee in midweek and “there is a chance but no guarantee” that attacker Tom Lawrence will return, while John Souttar, Nico Raskin, Rabbi Matondo and Kemar Roofe remain out.

He also repeated his message to the Rangers fans to leave the “dangerous” pyrotechnics at home in future.

The match at Dundee on Wednesday night was delayed by 45 minutes after the Rangers team bus was held up in traffic and then suspended for 18 minutes after Gers supporters let off a large number of flares that triggered fire alarms under the stand.

The Scottish Professional Football League will liaise with police over the “very concerning” pyrotechnic display and the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss reiterated his thoughts on the matter.

He said: “I was clear what I said after the game but I will repeat it a last time.

“I loved when we came outside for the warm-up in Dundee, you see a lot of Rangers supporters, a lot of atmosphere, songs, chants, support for the team.

“It gives the team energy. The pyro thing we don’t need. It doesn’t give something extra. It is dangerous. So if they give all the other things I will be a very satisfied manager.

“It is good that there is rules because it is such a dangerous thing. I have seen it a lot in the past but it is good that there are strict rules because we need to avoid danger for people.”

Rangers attacker Scott Wright was delighted to see his side’s “ruthless” streak come to the fore at Dens Park.

Philippe Clement’s side overcame delays caused by traffic problems and their fans’ pyrotechnic display to beat Dundee 5-0 and stay five points behind Celtic in the cinch Premiership.

Ryan Jack’s fifth-minute strike – shortly before the flares held up the game for 18 minutes – was enough to give Rangers a half-time lead on Wednesday.

Further goals from Danilo, Sam Lammers, Cyril Dessers and James Tavernier ultimately gave the Light Blues a convincing win.

Rangers had left it very late to get the two goals needed to beat Hearts in their previous game and played out a goalless draw with Sparta Prague days earlier, so Wright feels the five-star show will help confidence.

“We were a bit frustrated going in at half-time,” he told Rangers TV. “We had created some really good chances and created some good patterns of play, but our final pass or shot wasn’t hitting the back of the net for us.

“It’s been something that we’ve needed to do more, kill teams off, so we knew we had to come out second half and blow them away.

“And I think we did that. The patterns of play that we had were great and the boys took their goals absolutely fantastically.

“It’s great when some of the stuff comes off for you. I’m delighted for the boys getting their goals, and it’s so important for us as a team to capitalise and finish the chances that we’re creating.

“I thought it was a really strong team performance. It wasn’t ideal with the delay getting to the game, and then at the start, but we just had to focus on ourselves and make no excuses.”

Wright only started one game in 11 months under previous manager Michael Beale but he has already started two under Clement and featured in all four of the Belgian’s matches in charge in total.

The former Aberdeen player looked set to be on his way out of the club in the summer but a move fell through and his new lease of life could take him back to Hampden for Sunday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final against Hearts.

The 26-year-old, whose last goal for Rangers came in the 2022 Scottish Cup final against the same team, said: “The manager has given me a fresh slate which is exactly what I’ve been after.

“All I can do is work hard, try to grab the opportunities that I’m given with both hands, and try to work as hard as possible for my next opportunity.  It’s a massive weekend coming up for us.”

The Scottish Professional Football League will liaise with police over the “very concerning” pyrotechnic display which held up Dundee’s cinch Premiership contest with Rangers at Dens Park.

Police asked referee Kevin Clancy to take the players off the pitch after smoke from the flare show by Rangers fans held up play and then set off fire alarms.

The game was delayed for 18 minutes after kick-off had initially been put back by 45 minutes following the late arrival of the Rangers team amid traffic problems.

Police are investigating and warned of the dangers of serious injuries after dozens of flares lit up the Bob Shankly Stand behind the goal less than 10 minutes into the game.

An SPFL spokesperson said: “The extensive use of pyrotechnics at the match at Dens Park is very concerning and unwelcome. The disruption to the game is obviously extremely regrettable.

“We await the delegate report and will be liaising with Police Scotland on the incident.”

Police Scotland are studying footage to try to identify those responsible.

Superintendent Iain Wales said: “The safety of the public and officers is our priority.

“Due to a number of pyrotechnics, including smoke bombs and flares being set off in the stands, the game was stopped. Players were removed from the pitch and returned a short time later.

“Taking pyrotechnics into a football stadium is not only an offence, it is extremely dangerous.

“It is tremendously disappointing and worrying that despite repeated warning about the risk, these are still brought to matches.

“Luckily there were no reports of any injuries, however the consequences could have been much worse. It’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.

“Although no arrests were made at the game, retrospective enquiries are being carried out.

“The investigation is ongoing and we are working closely with both clubs to identify those responsible.

“Anyone with information that may assist our enquiries should contact 101 quoting reference number 2815 of 2 November.”

Dundee declared that they were “investigating and working with the relevant authorities after a series of unacceptable actions in the stands”.

A club statement added: “Despite robust practice by all clubs in the SPFL and the SFA at Hampden, flares, offensive banners and singing of sectarian songs continue to be a problem all across our game in Scottish Football.

“As we are working with the authorities we are unable to comment on the situation at this time.

“The club will comment further once the ongoing investigation has taken place and concluded.”

Rangers manager Philippe Clement urged supporters not to repeat the display after praising his players for maintaining focus amid the disruption.

Speaking after his side’s 5-0 win, Clement said: “I hope that the club does not face sanctions. You come here in the warm-up and the stand is full, everyone is chanting and supporting the players, giving a lot of energy.

“Those are very important things. We feel also the dynamic between fans and players is changing and it’s because of both sides.

“It was good the team started bright again, but I think everyone will understand that it’s really good to have all this support, all these songs and all this energy – I love it – but keep the fire outside of the stadium.”

Philippe Clement thanked the Rangers supporters for backing their team in the 5-0 win over Dundee at Dens Park but asked them to leave the pyrotechnics at home in future.

The match was delayed by 45 minutes after the Rangers team bus was held up in traffic and then suspended for 18 minutes after the travelling fans let off a large number of flares that triggered fire alarms under the stand.

Rangers were unaffected by either delay as they ran out comfortable winners thanks to goals from Ryan Jack, Danilo, Sam Lammers, Cyriel Dessers and James Tavernier.

Clement was pleased with his players’ focus but hoped there would not be future firework displays from the Rangers fanbase.

The Belgian said: “I expect a team that’s always ready no matter what happens, even if they say we have to play in the car park.

“We need to be ready because we play this game to win, so we must always be ready to adapt to the situations.

“The players were ready and after going inside again it was the same. Because you have five minutes in the dressing room it doesn’t mean you lose your focus.

“They need to be winners so whatever circumstances, whatever pitch, whatever weather, we are there to win games. That’s the mentality I want.

“I hope that the club does not face sanctions. You come here in the warm-up and the stand is full, everyone is chanting and supporting the players, giving a lot of energy.

“Those are very important things. We feel also the dynamic between fans and players is changing and it’s because of both sides.

“It was good the team started bright again, but I think everyone will understand that it’s really good to have all this support, all these songs and all this energy – I love it – but keep the fire outside of the stadium.”

Dundee boss Tony Docherty admitted he thought the game was going to be abandoned when referee Kevin Clancy took the players off the pitch.

He said: “It was a bizarre night and at one stage I thought the game wasn’t going to go ahead. I was trying to keep the boys focused.

“Then we start the game and because of the pyros we get brought in again. There’s a debate on whether there’s a place for that but the game was almost abandoned.

“The police took control and I didn’t think we were going to go back out again. That affects focus. When it’s almost causing matches to be abandoned I think we need to address it.”

Philippe Clement believes his Rangers side answered his questions about their mettle in the last-gasp 2-1 win over Hearts which cut Celtic’s lead at the cinch Premiership summit to five points.

Jambos captain Lawrence Shankland gave the visitors the lead after five minutes before home skipper James Tavernier smacked the post with a penalty at the end of the first half after Toby Sibbick’s foul on Todd Cantwell.

Gers midfielder Nicolas Raskin was taken from the field on a stretcher after sustaining an injury in shooting after the break but the game ended on a high for the Light Blues, under the tutelage of Clement for the third time.

The hosts were awarded a second spot-kick in the 90th minute for a Peter Haring foul on Connor Goldson after a VAR check by referee John Beaton, and this time Tavernier slammed it in, with substitute Danilo completing the turnaround by heading home the winner in the third of nine added minutes.

“I am curious if there comes a moment, and it always comes, where the scenario is not going our way, how they would react,” Clement said after the match. “Clearly they had the reaction that I wanted.

“Our strength needs to be that whatever happens in football, we never give up and we keep on repeating what we are doing because they are doing already good things together.

“Of course we need to still make better a lot of details but if we show the right mentality over and over again in every action and in the reaction afterwards then we are a really good team.

“That is what we showed together, not with 11 but with the whole squad, also the players who came in to give this energy.”

The Belgian continued: “Was it perfect? No. But for me it is a reference game in the way that they have seen if they never give up a lot of good things can happen.

“It is not a guarantee that you win every game because not even the best teams in the world manage to do that but we are going to win much more games than we have done until now. It is a big step forward for me and in that way Tav was an example today.

“Missing the penalty, getting the stick because of that, that moment you can lose confidence, you can go down, you can stop taking responsibility.

“But he took the second penalty, he scored it and afterwards he gave the assist for the second goal.

“I want to see a lot of players with that mentality in my dressing room.”

Hearts boss Steven Naismith had his own question marks over both penalties.

The former Rangers striker said: “The game hinges on the penalty decision. I don’t think it is a penalty.

“At every corner there was blocking, where Rangers players were not even interested in the ball. All they are doing is looking at our man, blocking our player.

“I spoke to officials during the game who said if that happened and it was given as a goal, it would be given as a foul.

“Lo and behold, at the end of the game there is a clear block on our man.

“John Lundstram is not even interested in the ball, all he is doing is looking at our player and he blocks him and then it is given by VAR.

“I spoke to the referee who said he never gets shown any video footage of any block happening. He said it (video) didn’t go that far back but it is pretty obvious.

“Clear blocking, clear obstruction, it should be our foul.

“VAR should see there is a foul happened before the two players (Haring and Goldson) make contact.

“Then the penalty in the first half. There is two minutes added on and that is given in the 48th minute. Small details can have a big impact.”

Substitute Danilo headed in a dramatic added-time winner against Hearts as Rangers won 2-1 to close the gap behind Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership to five points.

The league leaders dropped two points at Hibernian on Saturday but the Gers’ prospects of taking advantage dipped when Jambos skipper Lawrence Shankland gave the visitors the lead after five minutes with a stunning header.

The mood inside Ibrox was not helped when skipper James Tavernier smacked the post with a penalty at the end of the first half and there was more woe when midfielder Nicolas Raskin was taken from the field on a stretcher after sustaining an injury in shooting.

However, within final minutes of normal time Philippe Clement’s side were awarded a second penalty after a VAR check for a Peter Haring foul on Connor Goldson and this time Tavernier slammed the ball in and in added time Brazilian striker Danilo, on for Cyriel Dessers at the start of the second half, nodded in for a victory which had looked unlikely for most of the afternoon.

Clement had resisted the opportunity to make radical changes following the gruelling goalless Europa League draw against Sparta Prague on Thursday night.

Ridvan Yilmaz, ineligible for the game in Prague, was reinstated at left-back as Rangers returned to a back four, with John Souttar dropping out.

Steven Naismith brought in defender Odeluga Offiah and midfielders Beni Baningime and Jorge Grant with Cammy Devlin and Alan Forrest dropping to the bench, while on-loan midfielder Alex Lowry could  not play against his parent club, who were shocked by the loss of an early goal.

Wing-back Alex Cochrane took possession on the left and swung a right-footed cross into the Gers box and over the head of Yilmaz for Shankland to almost casually head past keeper Jack Butland.

It was the first goal lost under Clement and the home fans were not happy with the deficit or the reaction from Rangers.

In the 27th minute, following a corner from Tavernier which was met by Goldson, Shankland cleared Dessers’ effort from close range off the line.

However, moments later, the anger from the Ibrox stands when Hearts attacker Kenneth Vargas drove over the bar after taking a Shankland pass was unmistakeable.

Attacker Abdallah Sima headed a Yilmaz free-kick wide of the target in the 34th minute before Hearts’ Stephen Kingsley replaced injured Odel Offiah.

Rangers were handed a lifeline right before the break when referee John Beaton pointed to the spot when Jambos defender Toby Sibbick tripped Todd Cantwell inside the box.

Tavernier sent Tynecastle keeper Zander Clark the wrong way with his spot-kick but the ball rebounded off the post and Hearts kept their goal intact.

There were pointed cheers when Brazilian striker Danilo replaced Dessers for the start of the second half and initially the home side looked in a hurry.

Midfielder Sam Lammers flicked a Yilmaz cut-back over the bar in the 55th minute before Raskin hit the side netting with a drive which left him injured and replaced by attacker Scott Wright.

Hearts remained resolute under constant pressure.

A 20-yard drive from Rangers midfielder John Lundstram escaped the far post, as did an effort from Tavernier but when Beaton was sent to check his pitchside monitor by VAR, he judged substitute Haring to have tugged Goldson’s shirt at a corner.

Tavernier drove in the penalty to level but there was more drama to come in the third of nine added minutes when Danilo rose at the back post to head in a Tavernier cross – suddenly all was well inside Ibrox.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers questioned whether someone was “making tricks” over their festive fixtures after his club’s trip to Dundee was moved to Boxing Day.

Rodgers and Motherwell have both expressed frustration on behalf of supporters after two cinch Premiership games were moved to accommodate live television coverage.

Motherwell’s Fir Park clash with Rangers has been moved from the Saturday afternoon of December 23 to a noon kick-off on Christmas Eve.

Celtic’s game at Dens Park will now take place at 3pm on Boxing Day instead of with the rest of the December 27 evening fixture card.

“It’s not ideal,” Rodgers said. “Obviously we would have preferred it to stay as it was. Especially at that time of the year.

“It’s interesting actually, I am pretty sure I’m correct in this, I think the last seven years Celtic have been away at that period of the season.

“So either we are very, very unlucky to be drawn away, or someone is making tricks behind the scenes.

“For seven years on the spin this club have been away at that time of the season. That’s not right for supporters.

“So hopefully they can maybe look at that going forward.”

Celtic’s previous six fixtures immediately after Christmas Day have been away against Hibernian, Hearts, Hamilton, St Mirren, Aberdeen and Dundee – five of them were on Boxing Day.

Motherwell revealed they were given one hour’s notice before the Scottish Professional Football League was initially going to announce their fixture change on Thursday afternoon.

Any representations the club made proved futile before the announcement was eventually made on Friday.

Motherwell acknowledged the broadcast contract allowed for such changes but claimed “moving a major fixture to this date is a special circumstance that should’ve led to additional consultation/ discussion with the club”.

A statement added: “We can only apologise to supporters who will be inconvenienced by this move and especially to those who will no longer be able to attend the game.

“We understand this move is particularly inconvenient for fans who had booked pre-match hospitality, which was already sold out.

“We are working with suppliers to provide an alternative offering pre- and post-match. We hope to still see as many of our fans as possible at the game.”

Philippe Clement aims to “rebuild” Rangers striker Kemar Roofe with a longer-term look at the player’s fitness issues.

The 30-year-old has been bedevilled with various injury problems since signing for the Light Blues from Anderlecht in 2020.

Roofe stayed on the bench for the 4-0 cinch Premiership win over Hibernian at the weekend and missed the goalless Europa League draw against Sparta Prague on Thursday night, and will not be in the squad for the visit of Hearts on Sunday.

Clement did not reveal the specifics of the former Leeds forward’s problem, although he was reportedly sent for a scan on a groin complaint in September under previous manager Michael Beale.

“Kemar will not be available for the weekend for sure,” said the Belgian boss. “Probably we need to rebuild.

“In the next weeks, we need to take a really good look at that because he has been struggling for a long time with the same things.

“It is important to find the reason for that and not always find the solution to get him fit for the next game and struggling afterwards again and going game by game, but really going to the cause of the problem.

“I cannot say anything about that (how long he will be out), we first need to make a really good assessment of how to bring Kemar back in a way that he can be a long time back and not a short time because that has been the case the last couple of months, to get him fit for games but struggling in between so we need to get him really fit.”

Clement was speaking on a Zoom call following what could be a vital Europa League point in the Czech Republic.

Striker Danilo, on his way back to full fitness following a facial injury which requires him to wear a mask on the field, came off the bench and was closest to scoring for the Ibrox side when his shot was tipped on to the crossbar and over by Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl.

Clement believes it will still be several weeks before the Brazilian forward is back to his best.

He said: “He has (been) out for quite a while. He didn’t play so many 90 minutes in the last couple of months or even the last year.

“He looked bright in the short period he played, but it is about making him stronger so that he can reach that level for 90 minutes.

“It is a work of several weeks to bring him to that level.”

Borna Barisic missed the trip to Prague with a knock and Clement is not sure if he will have the left-back available for the game against the Jambos.

He said: “We will see if Borna can train tomorrow, that is still a question mark.”

Clement hopes midfielder Jose Cifuentes will resume training on Saturday, but Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Dujon Sterling remain out.

Philippe Clement praised his revamped Rangers side for their second-half response against Sparta Prague which earned a valuable Europa League point.

With Borna Barisic and Dujon Sterling injured and Ridvan Yilmaz not in the European squad, the new Gers boss had no natural left-back available which meant a change to a back-three with prolific attacker Abdallah Sima playing left wing-back.

The visitors were fortunate to go into the break with their goal intact as Sparta dominated but there was a gradual improvement in the second half with substitute Danilo having a shot tipped on to the bar by Peter Vindahl late in the game which ended goalless.

Clement said: “The second half was much better. In the end it was a game that was in the balance, the first half for Sparta, the second half for us.

“But I am happy with the reaction in the second half. It has been a very special week, losing three left full-backs and because of that we had to change the system and doing that with two training sessions is very difficult for any team in the world.

“If you have time to prepare on those things it is different but that was not the case.

“So I am really happy after showing images at half-time, where the spaces were and what we had to do, that it was much better in the second half where we dominated in the chances and in the end we could say we could win the game because there were two really great saves from the goalkeeper.

“It is a very important point. Getting points away from home is really important but I am a winner, I want to win always and I want the team to have the same mentality.

“I saw it after the game, they were disappointed that they didn’t win and that is the mentality we need in the next couple of months but in the circumstances we can be happy with a point against a team that plays really good football, a team with a lot of quality.

“The reaction in the second half was good and we need to build on that.”

Rangers are now on four points from three Group C fixtures ahead of Sparta Prague’s visit to Ibrox on November 9 albeit Clement’s focus is on the visit of Hearts in the cinch Premiership on Sunday.

The Belgian, whose tenure at Ibrox began with a 4-0 cinch Premiership win over Hibernian at the weekend, highlighted the performance of Sima, on loan from Brighton, saying: “Sima played a really important role as wing-back, which he is not used to playing and he did a great job defensively for the team.

“We want to see a team fight for each other until the edge and over the edge to keep clean sheets and that is two clean sheets in a row and if you do that you take a lot of points in the season but I don’t want a team that only play for clean sheets and only defends to keep clean sheets.

“I want a team that plays good football and creates chances like they showed in the second half.”