Philippe Clement makes unseen tactical tweak that made Rangers difference against Hearts

Philippe Clement has been under pressure since the opening weeks of the season when Rangers drew with Hearts, lost to Dynamo Kyiv and then Celtic too.

The manager has had his team selections questioned and his loyalty to players who seem to avoid being dropped, regardless of performances and results.
Philippe Clement’s squad is starting to look better in terms of injuries, but it is a subtle change in system that has seen Rangers start to look more dangerous when attacking the opposition box, as seen against Hearts as early as the sixth minute.

Philippe Clement makes subtle Rangers tactics tweak

One of the fundamental basics of football is that the more players a team gets into the opposition box when they attack, the greater the chance of them scoring a goal.

When Cyriel Dessers opened the scoring for Rangers against Hearts, there were six players looking to join the forward line – a ball doesn’t have to go to the intended target to end up in the net.

If Rangers are to get to the level that they want to, they will need to be this committed for 90 minutes, not just for the first 10 or 20.

The problem against Hearts wasn’t the system, formation or game plan, it was how poorly the players executed simple passes and opportunities to score – it wasn’t for the lack of intent or effort to get players forward.

Will Clement change tactics as Rangers struggle?

Speaking after the recent defeat to Aberdeen, Clement spoke about his refusal to drop his preferred 4-2-3-1 Rangers formation:

“Changing a formation in this moment, I think it will only create more doubts. Also, how are you going to change the formation if you can train on that one time?” Said Clement.

“How you’re going to train on that in how you build, how you create chances, how you defend. Everything in a session of one hour. So those are also the things you can build on things.