Philippe Clement says Rangers show Scottish football in a good light with Tottenham draw
The two teams drew 1-1 at Ibrox on Thursday night
Philippe Clement claimed Rangers showed Scottish football in a good light with their 1-1 Europa League draw against Tottenham at Ibrox.
In an enthralling, end-to-end encounter against the English giants, the Light Blues took a deserved lead two minutes into the second half when Moroccan striker Humza Igamane converted a James Tavernier pass.
Spurs' half-time substitute Dejan Kulusevski equalised in the 75th minute with a well-worked goal but the Govan side rallied again at the end and former Parkhead keeper Fraser Forster made a terrific save from Gers substitute Cyriel Dessers, who also subsequently had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside, to take the point back to London for Ange Postecoglou's side.
Rangers remain in eighth place in the table with 11 points from 18 - Spurs are behind on goal difference - with two fixtures remaining and still on course for the knockout stages
Clement was "very proud" of his players but claimed the morale boosting win ahead of for the Premier Sports Cup final against Celtic at Hampden Park on Sunday, was underlined with belief and resonated outside Govan.
"The belief is there," said the Belgian boss who will have the fitness of defender John Souttar and Igamane, both of whom came off, assessed before the cup final.
"You cannot play at this level if you don't start the game with belief.
"To dare to play in that way against Tottenham without belief is impossible.
"If there's one player on the pitch who doubts about it, everything falls apart.
"So the belief is there already for quite a while. It's about doing it every time, doing it every three days.
"That culture we need to create in the team, that thing we need to create also with their bodies to become strong like that, to do it every three days. So yeah, that's a job we have to do with all staff.
"But you see that everybody buys into the story and that you see also really good football.
"I don't think it was only important for Rangers.
"I think it's also important for Scottish football that people see that there's good football being played in Scotland also.
"To compete with a top side from the Premier League, it's a massive thing."
Clement believes the performance was "a big step forward" for the development of his side.
He said: "I'm very proud about the performance because it's the way we want to see football being played.
"Also if you see where this group of players is coming from, from scratch a few months ago and making performances like this now.
"It is massive for the synergy with the fans. I had difficulty in moments to reach my players because there was so much noise but it was energetic for the team also. So it's a massive thing.
"Also, if you see after the game, everybody was really pleased about the performance.
"So this is major and this is what Rangers is about. It's also the strength of the club. If things go well, the fans get really behind the team and give a lot of energy. So I'm happy that is back."
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