Philippe Clement claimed Rangers’ stunning 4-1 Europa League win over Nice in France was their best performance of the season.
Amid domestic struggles which have piled pressure on his shoulders, the Belgian boss watched his team again come good on the continent.
The home side had an early penalty award overturned and the visitors took advantage with goals from winger Vaclav Cerny, midfielder Mohamed Diomande and striker Hamza Igamane before the break.
The 22-year-old Moroccan grabbed his second in the 54th minute and the Govan side could and should have added more before and after Badredine Bouanani reduced the deficit in the 83rd minute.
Rangers moved into eighth place in the table with 10 points from five fixtures and it was a real boost to chances of a top-eight finish, although they have Tottenham, Manchester United and Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise still to come.
Clement told broadcaster TNT: “I think if we look at the opponent, yes, because of their strength, I think in Malmo (2-0) against FCSB (4-0), we had also really, really big performances.
“But knowing the level of Nice, this is probably the best performance this season.
“But the season is still young in a way. We talked a lot about that, about young squad, a lot of new players in.
“If you see how many new players were on the pitch today, only two months, three months, some already four months. But it’s still a short time at the club.
“So it starts to gell together better and better, and they become stronger and stronger, and that’s what we need to confirm the next weeks and next months.”
Igamane came in for experienced Cyriel Dessers and Clement insists the young striker, who signed from AS FAR in the summer, deserved his first start in Europe.
He said: “He came in with an injury. He missed all the preparation. He doesn’t have experience at this level.
“We’re working hard on him with all staff, to make him stronger physically.
“He made really big progression in that way, and also tactically, doing the right things for the team, and that’s why I gave him the chance today, because I saw the good things in the last couple of weeks, getting better and better in training.
“And like I said before the game, it’s my job to give these chances at this stage to see what players can bring.
“And he showed what I expected. But you never know with the young player, he can be also caught up in the emotions after his first chance (got caught in possession inside the Nice box).
“But he didn’t do so that’s a big thing. You need characters like that to play for Rangers, because you can never be impressed by occasions.”
Brazilian striker Danilo is not in the European squad and will return for the William Hill Premiership game against St Johnstone on Sunday.
Clement watched Dessers come off the bench against Nice and miss a sitter and admits the much maligned Nigeria striker will need “for sure” to improve in the face of competition for his place.
The Belgian said: “There will be competition between them, and it’s about seeing whose in the best shape at one moment.
“But that’s never a decision for weeks or months. That’s showing it game by game.”
The Light Blues sit nine points behind Aberdeen in the Premiership having played a game less and 11 behind Old Firm rivals Celtic
Clement hopes to use the win as a springboard for the rest of the season.
He said: “Yeah, we need we need to win. That’s clear. We need to win, we need to perform well, but not only Sunday, also on Wednesday and then in the weekend again.
“So I don’t want to see players who are in a satisfaction mode.
“They can be happy after the game, but I want to see hungry players who have desire to become better and better, what I’ve seen until now.”
