Clement: We aren’t underdogs for Old Firm – I don’t care what others say

Everything about the recent history of the Old Firm fixture and the overall battle for Premiership supremacy points to another Celtic win on Sunday lunchtime.
The defending champions have set off like a train in pursuit of their 13th title in 14 years, led by a manager, Brendan Rodgers, who has lost one of only 18 games to Rangers over his two spells at the helm.
Celtic have just smashed their transfer record amid a spending spree that surely quelled any mounting resentment between Rodgers and the board, at the same time that Clement was scrabbling about to plug gaps with a fraction of the budget and nothing like the same saleable assets with which to better his lot. The Belgian knows he is up against it, in the here and now and the bigger picture of a title race that even certain of those without a dog in the fight expect to become something of a formality for Celtic.
Nonetheless, at his pre-match media session, Clement bristled at the very suggestion he might relish being the underdog. To his mind, what he thinks of such a label is irrelevant when it does not apply to begin with.
“I don’t like the word underdog, and I never want to be an underdog. I never felt like an underdog. I played with the [Belgium] national team against much better countries but I never felt like the underdog. I don’t need that. I don’t need the opinion of other people to work hard or to make things better.
“I don’t want to speak about that [winning titles]. I want now to focus on this squad and to go full for that. You can speak about titles or trophies always afterwards. The biggest mistake that players can make, or managers can make, and I will never make that mistake, is to look at the end of the road and the trophy that you can get and forget the journey to get there and to stay on that road and to follow that road in the best way. I will never make that mistake and I will speak enough with my players that they will not do that also.
“I don’t care what people are saying. I know how close we were last season, and it was a matter of details in those [derby] games. But it’s about us proving that on the pitch. So I don’t care about what other people are saying.
“I care about what our fans are thinking. I care about that. Because I want them 200 per cent behind this team, behind this squad, to help all these players to get the best out of themselves. That’s the only important thing for me.”
The early indications are that Clement made the most of a bad hand in his summer transfer dealings, with two last-day additions — the Feyenoord loanee defender Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Albania’s former Sassuolo midfielder Nedim Bajrami — now on hand to provide further options in the coming weeks. Neither is expected to feature at Celtic Park, but will help develop another layer of depth ahead of a hectic run of domestic and Europa League assignments.
“Neraysho is a versatile defender, and the important thing for me also is that he’s used to playing in Feyenoord, in De Kuip, a stadium where you have a similar atmosphere to Ibrox, with fans who are demanding, who are on top of the players, who are on top of the pitch.
“Even though he’s a young player, he has the experience, also with Netherlands Under-21, and playing abroad already [on loan at Rapid Vienna], so he can give us versatility to be one of the centre-backs, but also can play on right or left full-back. With Nedim Bajrami we have somebody with experience at the highest levels, who can play in midfield, but also can play on the wings. So that helps the squad in the totality.
“It’s not what I’ve done, it’s what we have done all together with the resources that were available. Let’s say it like that. I think there’s a lot of things done already. But it’s not only short term, it’s also long term. And we had to do that as a club. If we had only gone for short-term, for sure it would have cost more money and that was also not possible. And we need to create value also for the future of this club, so that you don’t keep on going in the same cycle that was going on. At the end of last season, six players left at the end of their contracts, with no added value to the club and the year before we had several of those as well.
“I remember Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos leaving the club, and they were big assets in the year before, they were worth a lot of money. So, yes, that’s a legacy from the past that we cannot change in one transfer window.”
Clement acknowledged he could yet dip into the free-agent market, but remained non-committal on the prospect of Ianis Hagi being reintegrated after the Romanian failed to land a move away.
A daunting mix of glamour and danger awaits in the Europa League, where both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are among Rangers’ opponents. “If I see the group we’re in now, I think some Champions League draws are — I won’t say easier, but maybe less challenging with fewer big teams,” Clement said. “It’s a great challenge for my squad. Because you play against the best and there you learn the most. And we had it before also in Bruges [Club Bruges]. These Champions League games helped young players a lot to learn lessons. And you’ll be challenged in a different way than you are in the league.
“So I think it’s a positive thing for the club. Of course, in terms of results, the higher the level is, the more difficult it is. But we’re going to go for it.”
Finding a way to defeat both Celtic and the odds on Sunday would be a massive shot in the arm for all concerned. But Rangers supporters — none of whom will be inside Celtic Park once again — can be forgiven for expecting yet another kick in the teeth.