Rangers

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Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "I think we saw a lot of positive things, good offensive football, dominance, and a lot of chances, one key point is to be more efficient with the chances, it has to be a game where you score four or five goals today for me and that’s what we need to do in the fruit.

"A lot of good movement without and with the ball, giving the right pass, and finding the right spaces with new players coming in, for example, I think Jefte played a very good and dominant game.

"Big congratulations to our recruitment team for finding a player of that level at that age for that price, in two months I think his value will be much bigger than for the amount that we bought him."

On Dessers opener, he added:

"I didn't see the images back but I had a feeling when I saw the action live that the referee doubted about the fall of Cyriel, but he made the right decision, he’s doubting, so he didn’t whistle and waited until after the game was dead. [He then decided] if it’s a goal or not together with his team to make the right decision.

Rangers progressed to the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup thanks to substitute Cyriel Dessers' hugely controversial opener and a late Ross McCausland dink that sealed victory over St Johnstone.

The holders were on top for most of the match at Hampden but struggled to make the breakthrough until Rabbi Matondo played in Dessers, who tangled with defender Jack Sanders.

Referee Matthew MacDermid seemed to give that as a foul before Dessers danced into the box and produced a fine finish but the goal was ruled out until VAR intervened.

St Johnstone were left furious when the strike was ultimately awarded as they clearly felt play had been stopped by the referee.

Click here to have your say on the match., external

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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You can’t look past the decision-making that led to Dessers’ goal. Rangers deserved the win but the way they got there is worth further scrutiny. The opener was crucial and it seemed inconceivable that VAR got involved given the referee appeared to have stopped the game before the decisive action had occurred.

That aside, Rangers did look very strong in getting into promising forward areas but too often lacked the clinical edge that would have made this considerably more comfortable, as they looked to move past their Champions League exit hangover.

The sparse “home” crowd didn’t help lift that but job done as far as they will be concerned. They’re through and results are vital right now.

A fresh injury to new singing Robin Propper is another concern as he looked to add something defensively. That is heightened by the fact the back line did look uncertain on occasion.

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Jefte was a real bright spark coming from a deep left-back position with Ridvan Yilmaz out through injury.

He seemed to shrug off his midweek frustration against Dynamo Kyiv and contributed greatly to this outcome.

Philippe Clement makes five changes to Rangers' starting XI from the side that lost their midweek Champions League qualifier to Dynamo Kyiv.

Ridvan Yilmaz, through injury, Connor Barron, Tom Lawrence, Ross McCausland, and Cyriel Dessers are all out.

Incoming are Dujon Sterling, Kieran Dowell, Rabbi Matondo, Vaclav Cerny and Danilo.

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Rangers: Butland, Tavernie, Souttar, Propper, Jefte, Sterling, Dowell, Diomande, Cerny, Matondo, Danilo.

Substitutes: Kelly, Barron, Dessers, Davies, King, McCausland, Fraser, McKinnon, Rice.

St Johnstone: Rae, Raymond, Cameron, Sanders, Neilson, MacPherson, Carey, Wright, Sidibeh, M. Smith, Kimpioka

Substitutes: Sinclair, May, Clark, C. Smith, Sprangler, McPake, Kirk, Olufunwa, Franczak

Rangers manager Philippe Clement says he will not walk away from the position despite admitting he has "a massive job" on his hands to improve the Ibrox club's fortunes. (Daily Record), external

Leeds United are not seeking to bring Rangers winger Rabbi Matondo to Elland Road at this time, despite a report suggesting interest in the 23-year-old Wales international. (Yorkshire Evening Post), external

Rangers target Hannibal Mejbri will only leave Manchester United on a permanent deal, making it difficult for the Ibrox club to secure the 21-year-old midfielder. (Football Insider), external

Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers and Wigan Athletic are among a host of clubs set to watch St Johnstone striker Adama Sidibeh in action against Rangers on Saturday as they weigh up a move for the forward. (Pete O'Rourke on X), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Premier Sports Cup holders Rangers will look to put Tuesday's Champions League qualifying defeat by Dynamo Kyiv behind them on Saturday as they host Scottish Premiership rivals St Johnstone in the last 16.

It means Philippe Clement's side return to the national stadium having won just one of their four outings this season - Saturday's narrow defeat of struggling visitors Motherwell.

Rangers' temporary home amid Ibrox renovations was far from full to watch them against the Ukrainians. How many will turn up to see them against less lauded opponents from the east after such a European body blow?

Craig Levein's visitors have had a mixed start to the season but arrive on the back of an impressive 3-0 win over Kilmarnock, albeit the hosts were down to 10 men for most of game.

The form of Benjamin Kimpioka, with six goals already this season, and fellow striker Adama Sidibeh, with four, has led to media speculation about their futures and scouts will be keen to see how they test a Rangers defence that lost left-back Ridvan Yilmaz to injury on Tuesday.

Indeed, St Johnstone have not scored in the latest five meetings between the sides since winning at McDiarmid Park in November 2022.

Saints lost all three meetings last season by an aggregate of 8-0 and they have suffered four straight defeats away to Rangers since a penalty shoot-out Scottish Cup win at Ibrox in April 2021.

Read the Premier Sports Cup preview in full here.

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Defender John Souttar has been stressing the importance of Rangers' adapting to life at Hampden as they begin the defence of the League Cup against St Johnstone at the national stadium.

Saturday's early evening kick-off will be Rangers' third match at their temporary home, following a Premiership win over Motherwell and Champions League qualifying defeat to Dynamo Kyiv.

"We have to win no matter where we are, whether it was at Hampden or Ibrox," said 27-year-old Souttar.

"These games we have to win, so as players we just try and win football games and do everything we can to do that.

"It's going to be different isn't it because it's not Ibrox, it's always going to be different because it's the national stadium.

"We just have to adapt for however long we're there. We've got to focus on the football, we've got to focus on winning games and that's what we're doing.

"Every trophy is important, every game is important, so we'll be doing everything we can to win the game."

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Philippe Clement says he has received “many messages from all over the world” about the controversial Jefte red card that proved pivotal to Rangers’ Champions League exit.

With a Premier Sports Cup tie against St Johnstone at Hampden up next on Saturday, the Belgian is looking to lift his side following the defeat by Dynamo Kyiv that consigned Rangers to the Europa League.

"They were really down after the game and the day after, but it's part of the story in football," said manager Clement.

"You have moments like this and it's even worse when you play a really bad game and you go out.

"That was not the case. So there were the circumstances and I don't want to go into that again, but it was clear for everybody all over the world.

"I get so many messages from all over the world about this red card. So that was clear for everybody and it changed the game.

"But like I said, after the game you cannot turn that back. UEFA will never say 'OK, we're going to replay the game'.

"So that's done, that's finished and it's our job, that's my responsibility, but for sure the players also, to react in the next game and to win that one."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Philippe Clement has been speaking to the media before Rangers' Premier Sports Cup tie against St Johnstone this weekend.

Here are the key lines from the press conference.

• The players were really down after the Champions League exit in midweek but they "can’t turn back time" and "must react now". Things will get better, Clement adds.

• On fans staying away, he "can’t manage that" and says if Rangers do their job then the supporters will follow.

• ⁠Ridvan Yilmaz is out for four to six weeks after being taken off on a stretcher in midweek. Scott Wright will miss Saturday's game, Leon Balogun still a doubt.

• Clement has ⁠not been involved in Old Firm ticket discussions, doesn’t know the history of the situation but says football is better with away fans.

• He "can’t hold a gun to the heads" of players such as Todd Cantwell and Ianis Hagi who have been told they can leave but have not done so.

• Clement would not be drawn on reports linking Rabbi Matondo with a move to Leeds.

• Hampden will never be home but Rangers must make it a second home.

Rabbi Matondo is wanted by Leeds United as the 23-year-old winger prepares for an exit from Rangers this summer. (Football Scotland), external

Rangers could turn to Brandon Williams, the 23-year-old left-back freed by Manchester United, amid growing fears that Ridvan Yilmaz has suffered a long-term injury after the Turkey international had to postpone a scan on his damaged thigh because of the extent of the swelling. (Daily Record), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

The Times' Michael Grant tells the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast that the Old Firm ticket row is "exasperating" as Rangers confirm they've not received an allocation for the first derby meeting of the season at Parkhead.

Listen to the full episode here.

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The draw for the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup will take place on Sunday after the Celtic v Hibs tie, which kicks off at 15:00 BST.

The draw will be shown live on Premier Sports following their coverage of the game from Parkhead.

All quarter-final ties due to be played on the weekend of September 21-22.

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Rangers' defeat on Tuesday night by Dynamo Kyiv could have pretty seismic implications for the season to come and beyond, and it appears supporters are fearful of what lies ahead.

Already trailing in the financial wake of title rivals Celtic, the failure to reach the Champions League means Celtic will earn around £20m more before a ball is kicked in European competition.

Philippe Clement spoke before the second leg against Dynamo of the boost Champions League qualification would provide as he tries to build a squad capable primarily of regaining the Premiership title from Celtic and perhaps giving a decent account of itself in Europe.

He will now have to try to engineer that scenario with one hand tied behind his back.

Already stymied by the inability to sell players he either doesn’t want or who don’t want to be at the club, Clement and the club’s director of football recruitment Nils Koppen will have to pull a few rabbits out the hat in the next few weeks if the squad is to seriously challenge Celtic.

You have to imagine with the recent new contract given to Clement, the board will stick with him no matter how this season unravels, rather than go through the messy and expensive process of deciding mid-season that the wrong decision was taken once again.

The Belgian must now show his mettle, his tactical nous, his ability to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts; otherwise this season will prove to be another familiar story for both Glasgow clubs.

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Former Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack joined the Sportsound team before Philippe Clement's side were dumped out of the Champions League by Dynamo Kyiv and gave an update on his future.

The 32-year-old remains a free agent having left Rangers at the conclusion of last season, but says he is hopeful of finding a club in the near future.

"No club at the minute, no," he said.

"I was in Dubai recently for two weeks, training away, doing a pre-season camp myself, because obviously I knew I wasn't going to have a club by then.

"A guy I know in Dubai has got a training base that he has some players training out of in the off-season, so I had the chance to go over there.

"I just went by myself for two weeks, training every day on the pitch in the gym, just keep myself going.

"Since I've been back, I've just been running by myself, but I'm sitting at this stage now where you see everyone back, you start seeing nights like tonight, and big games coming thick and fast, and you want to be a part of some sort of team.

"Hopefully it's not too long in the future that I've got somewhere sorted."

Nottingham Forest will not be pursuing their interest in Rangers winger Thompson Ishaka after the 19-year-old Nigerian trained with the Premier League club. (Daily Record)

Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.

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Dundee United's Scottish Premiership home game with Rangers next month has been rescheduled for TV coverage.

Originally set for Saturday, 14 September at 15:00 BST, the Tannadice contest will now take place the following day at 12:00 and be shown live on Sky Sports.

We asked for your views after Rangers' Champions League hopes were ended by defeat to Dynamo Kyiv at Hampden.

Here's what some of you said:

Steven: Without any shadow of doubt a poor refereeing decision changed the face of the game. However, two facts remain: the lack of a clinical finisher up front to convert the opportunities we did create and woeful defending for the goals conceded. Therein lie the roots of our problems.

Brian: Was it a sending off - definitely not, but after being booked it was just a matter of time before the referee would have got him for something else. You can't play 45 minutes with players on a booking, the manager should have replaced booked players at half-time but no excuses, Rangers have to improve big time and quick.

David: Rangers are slow, ponderous, unimaginative and extremely predictable. They are a terrible team to watch, over a dozen players signed in the last year and we are probably in a worse place. Losing last night was no surprise, even if the red card was a terrible decision, we did nothing over the two games to merit going through. A long, boring season ahead.

Phil: Despite what Philippe Clement said in his post-match interview this was not a good performance by Rangers. Even before the sending off we were second to every ball. Going middle to front we lack skill and imagination. The rebuild will be long and hard, but I will cheer every victory along the way.

Samuel: Robin Propper and John Souttar were excellent. Jefte looked promising and must get over the totally unfair decision, it could have been a great game if the referee had been moderately competent. Onwards and upwards.

Scott: The fans need to stop moaning, yes it's not great just now for a variety of reasons, but slating players all the time is not helping. That tie was first goal wins and the referee has decided to make a shocking decision. Clement had one defeat out of his first 21 games with the same bunch of players, he can do a job for us but needs the fans onside.

Peter: Clement made the wrong substitute at the wrong time. In the first half Rangers didn't get the run of the ball, poor passing and then you look at Dynamo with their theatrics. I think on a yellow already Jefte should have been subbed. However, more chances need to be created as relying on Cyriel Dessers as the main man up front is not going to get the team through.

Bill: Another awful performance, James Tavernier was slow and caught in possession and shows no leadership. The standard of refereeing was appalling and at best amateur level. This will be a long season based on what I have seen so far. The board of directors are a joke, Celtic will not need to get out of second gear to win the league. I'm very concerned about our club.

David: Horrendous, shocking, you could go on and on about the sending off, but we had chances to score and once again never took them.

Charles: Not good enough, the worst Rangers team I've ever seen but I hope the manager can get us where we should be. I thought we didn't play too badly, but the Jefte sending off was a disgrace.