Old Firm 'disrespect' row: Rangers manager Clement sets sights on Celtic rival with 'I would never say that' response

Philippe Clement (L) shakes the hand of Borna Barisic when he came off against Kilmarnock on Sunday - how the Rangers manager greets Celtic opposite number Brendan Rodgers this weekend will be interesting (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Disrespect rows frames an already huge Old Firm meeting on Saturday

It is already one of the biggest Celtic v Rangers clashes in recent memory but this weekend's Old Firm showdown has been provided with some probably unnecessary yet nevertheless delicious extra frisson after Ibrox manager Philippe Clement accused opposite number Brendan Rodgers of talking his team down.

One Old Firm manager accusing the other of lack of respect is an answer to the prayers of hype merchants as the countdown begins to a potentially defining match in terms of the Premiership title race.

Celtic are in poll position and Rodgers said he was looking forward to having “a bit of fun” against Rangers this weekend when he was interviewed after his side’s 3-0 win over Hearts on Saturday. The spotlight then switched to Ibrox on Sunday afternoon as Rangers managed to remain on Celtic’s coat tails with a 4-1 win over Kilmarnock, who had defender Joe Wright sent off after 20 minutes.

It was an edgy, often angst-ridden afternoon and Rangers might yet regret scoring just four times against a team who were a man down for 70 plus minutes.

But it was better than many home fans had feared after 12 minutes, when Kilmarnock went ahead through a James Tavernier own goal. The win means Rangers can still draw level with Celtic at the top if they win on Saturday at a partisan Parkhead. Rodgers is clearly relishing the prospect but Clement stressed that he went too far when stating there would be some “fun” to be had at Rangers' expense.

“That it is something that I would never say about an opponent,” said the Belgian, who was clearly put out by the assertion. “But okay, we will see….

“That it’s not really respectful towards my team,” he added. “That is what I think. So I will never say things like that about an opponent.”

Mind games are not Clement’s priority. Veteran Leon Balogun was taken off at half time having picked up a muscle injury against Kilmarnock. Although replacement Ben Davies did put Rangers 2-1 up, the loss of another centre half is problematic after Connor Goldson was ruled out for the rest of the season last week.

“I hope it is a small muscle injury,” said Clement. “We will see in the next couple of days. But he struggled too much to continue.”

The manager is excited by the challenge presented on Saturday, to the extent that he wished the match was “tomorrow”. But he did acknowledge such a tight turnaround would prove too much for his players after their weekend exertions.

“I am looking forward to that and to be honest as a manager I would love that it was tomorrow instead of next week but that is maybe not so good for my players..” he said. “We are really hungry for that game. Six months ago we were seven points behind and now we are three points behind and we can come equal. The team has already done a lot of steps and now it is about making the next step.”

With goal difference a potential defining factor in the title issue, Clement was asked whether he was frustrated by scoring ‘only’ four goals against a team who had played with ten men for so long and were clearly tiring. It means they failed to cut the goal difference gap on Celtic, which remains at five in favour of the Parkhead side.

“Frustration is a bad word if you score four goals,” he said. “Of course you want more goals like any manager. But I know also that teams struggle against a team of ten who are all defending to create these opportunities.

“So in that way we did a lot of things good and scored good goals. We missed a penalty and it should have been five. Efficiency is never perfect.

“You have maybe one or two games in your career as a manager where every chance is a goal. I didn’t have this moment yet. I am hoping maybe next week or the next couple of months it will happen once.”