After the SPFL declared they were doing away with the winter break, PHILIPPE Clement has cautioned Rangers that in order to effectively manage all of their domestic and European fixtures, they will need to expand their squad for the upcoming season.
In the 2024–2025 season, the Champions League and Europa League will use a Swiss model, with each group stage club participating in eight games overall rather than six between September 25 and January 30.
This month, when the Premiership came to an abrupt halt for three weeks, Clement, who had his players away to La Manga in Spain for a warm-weather training holiday, can appreciate why there won’t be a shutdown next term.
The expectations that modern football players face from their clubs and countries worry him, though, and he believes that in order to manage a demanding schedule, he will require more players at his disposal.
“I firmly believe that the winter break holds significant value,” he declared. “Several elite players have given strong indications over the last two years that it’s getting to be too much.
“You’ve also seen a good number of injuries among the best players and teams, who are participating in a lot of games. We need larger squads the more games we play because you have to rotate players.
“You require periods of both mental and physical recuperation. As a single player, you are unable to play every three days for eleven months and achieve peak performance. Given the size of the squad, we must consider that if there are more games in the upcoming season.
However, Clement is certain that his present team is capable of winning all of the Premiership, Scottish Cup, and Europa League matches that Rangers will have to play in what seems to be another demanding run.
He remarked, “All of my players enjoy playing.” “I believe that now that they’ve had some time, the players are anticipating it. I’m not sure if they enjoy my training less and would rather play games!
But that’s how I truly feel about it. They are all pushing, and they have more opportunities to play the more games we have. It is not possible to play all those games with the same eleven players, so there will be a rotation. Everyone will be active and remain participating, just like we did in December.
Thus, if you ask the dressing room right now, I believe they actually prefer this. They will therefore be overjoyed for the upcoming season as there will be even more games and no winter break.
When asked if the bad weather had made it harder to train for tonight’s Premiership match at Easter Road against Hibernian, Clement responded, “Yes, but I come from Belgium.” This is nothing new; Belgium also experiences it.
Furthermore, I’m not here to lounge on the beach or in the sun. or to develop a tan. What the weather is like doesn’t matter to me. In Dumbarton, it was the same: winning those games and performing your job are what matter.
In the last days of the transfer window, Clement acknowledged that he wasn’t simply trying to expand his choices but also adding more elite players to the Rangers roster.
“Everyone is putting in a lot of effort to sign more people of the highest caliber,” he stated. “The club already demonstrated that by acquiring Fabio, as he had the option to join teams with larger budgets than the Rangers.”
“We don’t want to bring in just players that bolster the team. To have additional security, it might be in one position. Generally speaking, our goal is to make the team stronger.
It’s a challenge for new players as well because the team is getting better and better. I see all of these players and this team getting better every month. As a result, new players face a difficult battle to compete and outperform the guys in the building.
It doesn’t imply that someone will automatically play if they show up. That is not how it operates. Since the squad is getting better, getting players in is becoming more and more of a difficulty.
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