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Scottish Cup final: Philippe Clement may ‘take risks’ with Rangers players – BBC Sport

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Scottish Cup final: Philippe Clement may ‘take risks’ with Rangers players – BBC Sport

Image caption, Scottish Cup final: Celtic v RangersWhere: Hampden Park, Glasgow When: Saturday, 25 May Time: 15:00 BSTHow to follow: Watch live on BBC One Scotland, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app; listen to live radio commentary on Sportsound; follow live updates

  • Author, Kheredine Idessane
  • Role, BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Rangers manager Philippe Clement is prepared to “take some risks with players” who may not be 100% fit for Saturday’s Scottish Cup final with Celtic – but does not “want to say too much” about who is available.

Defenders Leon Balogun, John Souttar, Borna Barisic and Connor Goldson were among seven players to miss Rangers’ final game of the league season against Hearts last weekend, while forward Abdallah Sima returned from injury.

Clement was more forthcoming about what is required from his team to complete a cup double, urging them to “go hard with all the energy they have left”, and said the occasion is “always more than just a trophy between these two clubs in this country”.

He wants his players to be “switched on all the time” and said: “There’s a lot of energy in the team now to end the season in a good way.

“This is a final game, a decisive game. Maybe we need to take some risks with players that we normally don’t do.

“The last six, eight weeks, it’s been difficult with all the players falling out, coming back from injury but missing rhythm, others falling out.

“It’s now about this one moment, about 90 minutes, 120 minutes, 120 minutes and penalties, to give everything with the whole squad, with everybody who is available.

“I think a few guys even want to come on the pitch with crutches. I cannot allow that, of course, but we’re going to go hard with the team with every energy that is available in the building.”

Clement, who steered Rangers to League Cup success over Aberdeen in December, is yet to taste victory in the Old Firm fixture, having lost twice at Celtic Park and drawn at Ibrox as Brendan Rodgers’ side retained the Premiership title.

“We didn’t grab the moments in those games – not in our offensive actions where we had enough chances to score more goals, not in our defensive actions and for sure by taking two times a red card,” said the Belgian.

“I expect 90 minutes or 120 minutes at least to have 11 players on the pitch all the time and to have better starts also and to work out of that.

“We’ve been always close. It’s been a one-goal difference at the end, the two games that you lost, and one draw where you come back after 2-0.

“It’s not like we lost with a lot of difference, but it was always close until the last second, we were in the game.”

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