Philippe Clement has rekindled the spirit of Manchester United's glory years of 1999 as he tries to turn around Rangers' players after a disappointing Champions League performance.
The Ibrox club were relegated to the less glamorous and lucrative Europa League after losing 2-0 to Dinamo Chiiu in the second leg of their third qualifying round at Hampden Park on Tuesday night.
Gers boss Clement has described referee Marko Guida's decision to show Djefte a second yellow card for an aerial tackle on Oleksandr Karabaev as “the worst decision I've seen in over 30 years of playing football”, but must now prepare his players for Saturday's League Cup last-16 tie against St Johnstone.
And to do so, the Belgian has drawn on lessons from the season 25 years ago when United achieved a historic treble by winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in just 10 days.
“They were really down after the game and the day after, but that's just part of football,” the former Monaco boss said, adding that left-back Ridvan Yilmaz, who was stretchered off with a thigh injury on Tuesday night, will be out for four to six weeks.
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Rangers manager Philippe Clement has admitted his plans to bolster his squad with new signings have been delayed by delays in player sales.
“There are moments like this, when you have a really bad game and you have to leave the game, it's even worse.
“That was not true. So there was a situation and I don't want to go into it again, but it was clear to everyone in the world.
“I get a lot of messages from all over the world about that red card, so it was clear to everyone and it changed the game.
“But as I said, once a match is over, you can't take it back. UEFA will never say, 'Okay, let's replay the match.'
“So that's it, it's our job and it's my responsibility, but the players also have to react and win the next game.
“That's football. That's part of the Rangers story, and part of every club around the world.
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“And a few months ago I watched the documentary '99' about Manchester United.
“I thought about it the day after our game. So they (United) really lost the first game. They lost the Charity Shield 3-0 to Arsenal, and it was like not touching the ball, not touching the ball.
“But they had to learn it later on, with a team full of young players, and they had the guidance of very important players like Roy Keane.
“So we have to do this over the next week, over the next month, and make the story better and better.
“And I've seen the team get better and better over the last three weeks.”
Clement will not look outside Ibrox for a replacement for Yilmaz, who is undergoing treatment alongside midfielder Nicolas Laskin and striker Oscar Cortes.
The Gers boss believes summer signing Jefte could take over, while 21-year-old academy graduate Robbie Fraser is also thought to be in the running.
Ridvan Yilmaz was forced off in Rangers' defeat to Dynamo Kyiv.
“I don't think Reidvan will be able to play. I don't want to go into details, but I think it will be about four to six weeks,” Clement said.
“Scott Wright is likely to be unavailable due to a minor issue, while Leon Balogun's availability remains uncertain.
“I don't think we have the assets to do something like that (bringing in another left-back). We need to focus all our energy on the positions we need in the squad until the end of the season.
“We've brought in another full-back now, we've got Ridvan and Jeffte, and we've got a third guy in Robbie Fraser who's made good progress in the last few months.
“So it was time for him to take his chance and he's done some positive things in the preseason.
“Giving opportunities to players who have graduated from the academy is also part of the story.”
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