Philippe Clement urged the Rangers board to help bring in fresh faces this month after his defensive crisis deepened in a 3-3 draw with Hibs.
The Ibrox side looked to have taken all three points when Hamza Igamane completed a brilliant hat-trick after 74 minutes, only for Hibs defender Rocky Bushiri to punish the visitors’ flimsy back-line with a headed equaliser with seven minutes left.
Celtic’s 3-0 win over St Mirren later in the day – combined with the draw at Easter Road – saw the gap between Rangers and their fierce rivals extend to 13 points just days after Clement’s men beat the champions 3-0 at Ibrox.
Already missing Leon Balogun, John Souttar, James Tavernier and Neraysho Kasanwirjo, the Belgian also lost stand-in centre half Dujon Sterling to injury towards the end of the match. With none of the injured likely to return for Thursday’s trip to Dens Park — a game for which Nico Raskin is also suspended — Clement hopes new recruits can arrive quickly.
‘I think every manager feels that (they need more players) and, for sure, in the situation we are in with injuries and everything,’ said Clement.
‘But there’s also the (financial) situation of the club. I’m not the one who can pay that. I don’t have that money. That’s something Patrick (Stewart, CEO) will address towards you guys. He wants to give that explanation, what is the plan for January.’
Rocky Bushiri celebrates his late equaliser for HIbs in pulsating 3-3 draw with Rangers
Igamane was hat-trick hero but even his efforts couldn’t secure Rangers all three points
Rangers boss Clement takes issue with the officials after another tough day for his team
Asked if Sterling had any chance of playing in Dundee, Clement added: ‘I don’t have a clue for the moment. Dujan got a kick on his foot. He had to come off because of that.
‘So, we will see how serious the injury is. I don’t know if Leon will be back and I don’t know if others (will be back either). So, we need to puzzle towards Thursday.’
Asked to confirm a time frame for Souttar’s return, he said: ‘That will still be several weeks. He will not be back in a short time.’
Clement was angry his side didn’t go on to win having been in total control for 30 minutes.
Igamane’s double was cancelled out by Martin Boyle’s brace either side of half-time. The Moroccan scored a third with 16 minutes left, but Bushiri’s header denied Clement victory.
‘It’s a frustrating afternoon to lose points in different ways,’ he said. ‘First, we played a really good first half, finding the spaces we wanted to find, a good combination to play, good chances, good goals, defensively solid.
‘Second half, you want to build on that, make the third goal, and stay solid like that. It became more of a game. Hibs came more into it.’
Clement was perplexed by referee John Beaton’s decision to award a penalty against Ianis Hagi when he tackled Josh Campbell in the box.
Bushiri rises highest to head home the goal that rocked Rangers and sparked joy for Hibs
Igamane celebrates scoring his second goal but Hibs kept fighting back
The Hibs players mob Rocky Bushiri after his dramatic late intervention
‘The penalty situation I don’t understand,’ he said. ‘It’s a situation with a small collision between two players on top speed, where even the attacking player gets Ianis down by getting his legs from behind.
‘Giving penalties like this, then you need to ask players to go down with every contact, which I don’t want (to do).
‘That’s not how you want football to be played. That was a very important moment in the game, because you create momentum for Hibs.’
With VAR not intervening, Clement sought an explanation from Beaton.
‘I asked why they see it’s a penalty, because I need to explain that also to my players. We will see what the (KMI) panel and Willie Collum say about that. So, I’m curious, because if these things will be a penalty, then there will be a lot of penalties this season and the year to come.’
Reflecting on the loss of two points, Clement said: ‘We were leading, we were dominant on the ball. We didn’t score the third goal, which would have made the difference. Then we come back, still to make the 2-3, and then it’s disappointing on a set-piece to lose this header and to lose two points. But we know also the situation we are in, with so many defenders out.
‘It’s a disappointing afternoon to lose two points, because there were a lot of positives for the team also. But, in the end, you will remember the result, and that’s not good enough. That first half an hour, in particular, looked really good.’
Clement lavished praise on the individual display of Igamane who took his goal tally for the season to 11.
Defender Bushiri savours the acclaim of the Hibs supporters after he made it 3-3
Clement wants defensive recruits after his team fell 13 points behind leaders Celtic
Boyle blows a kiss to fans after scoring two goals in Hibs’ astonishing fightback
‘I got a lot of questions at the beginning of the season, why we did that transfer,’ he added.
‘So, it’s good that people see why now, and it’s somebody who’s really hungry to become better.
‘He made giant steps the last three, four months, technically, tactically for sure, and even more physically, to cope with the rhythm we play here in the league, to cope also with playing more minutes.’
David Gray said the character of his Hibs players is now beyond question after they bounced back against Rangers to extend their unbeaten run to six matches.
Under extreme pressure to save his job towards the end of last year, Gray believes the mental strength his side again demonstrated in a pulsating draw illustrated why the team are now knocking on the door of the top six.
‘We’ve demonstrated that a few times now in recent weeks, which is something that has been questioned a lot this season,’ he said.
‘I’ve had to sit and answer a lot of questions about the character and mentality of the group. But they’ve answered that numerous times in recent weeks, which is great.
‘We had to ride our luck a little bit in the first half. But to come back the way we did, especially against a team like that … Rangers are a really good side and to give them a two-goal start is very, very difficult.
‘Then once we get pegged back again at 3-2, it would have been very, very easy to throw in the towel at that point.
‘But, again, we finished the game strong and we’ve done everything we could to get back into the game.
‘Credit to everyone involved. I’m delighted for the players. Massive credit to them for the second half performance and hanging in there in the first half because we just re-started miles better.’
Gray felt Bushiri’s display typified his team’s effort.
The defender set up Boyle’s first goal, headed home the third from a corner and almost cost his side a fourth right at the end only for Igamane to hit the post.
‘You need to credit Rocky for his performance,’ added Gray. ‘Yes, there were errors within it, of course.
‘He wasn’t the only one. There was a lot within it, as I’ve already touched on. Even myself, tactically, jumping at the wrong times or maybe not quite getting the message on.
‘We need to look at that because, when you lose three goals, there are definitely areas to improve.
‘But when you then show the character after making a mistake, or having to deal with that, there’s no better way to do it than to go and score a goal. Not just that, but how he (Bushiri) performed in other moments within the game.
‘Rocky, obviously, scores the goal and does great in the game. But, collectively, the second half,he effort, the desire was clearly there from everybody.
‘There’s still a lot to work on. We’re not getting carried away at all. But at least the positivity is still there and we can keep this run going.’
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