Philippe Clement: Rangers lost focus at Ross County after 'strange preparation'

Rangers manager Philippe Clement said his club lost focus this week after "really strange preparation" culminated in a 3-2 defeat at Ross County.

The Gers' rearranged Scottish Premiership game at Dundee was called off on Wednesday after a second pitch inspection became the fifth fixture the club has postponed at the Scot Foam Stadium this season.

Rangers hit out at Dundee's "negligence and unprofessionalism" while Clement said the weather could not be blamed for the "crazy situation".

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The fixture will now take place on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports, with the disruption leading to a shock defeat at Ross County on Sunday which left them four points behind leaders Celtic with a game in hand.

"I lost several things out of our normal game today and one of these was winning duels and being in our structure," Clement told Sky Sports. "Maybe it's because we had a really, really strange preparation this week.

"It's not an excuse but everybody was more busy with things outside of football than football in the club. That's also something to keep in mind and keep focused on the football and nothing else."

Ross County, second bottom in the Scottish Premiership, stunned Rangers by scoring twice inside the first five minutes of the second half to take a 2-1 lead.

County had never beaten Rangers before and extended their lead before James Tavernier netted a late penalty.

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'We thew away these points'

"I'm very disappointed in our performance. In the first half, we didn't play well, not enough with the ball. Circumstances aren't ideal to play really good football but we can do much better like we showed in the last half hour," said Clement.

"The first hour we missed urgency to kill the game, to score goals, to not give anything away. You do that in the first half by scoring and having a lead.

"I warned them at half-time that I wanted to see more. Then we get two really early goals [against] and you need to chase the game. It's a very disappointing afternoon for us. It was not good enough, simple. All great to Ross County for the big heart they showed today.

"This is not the way I've seen my team in the last couple of months. We've been the best defensive team in the league, conceding the least goals. Conceding three today in that manner is also disappointing.

"We threw away these points but it's now about the next couple of weeks taking the points everywhere. It's not only about character but also showing quality. We need to do what we've been doing well in a lot of months."

Boyd: A massive blow for Rangers

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Sky Sports' Kris Boyd:

Boyd: "It's application from players. When you're in a title race, you need to win games of football. Once you get back in it, you've got to believe you can win the title. You've got to come to places like this and win.

"Ross County have never beaten Rangers before. You can put all that in the bin now because they were excellent. Rangers were so far off it in the first half. The warning signs were there - Ross County had a couple of chances - but the second half, they came out and got the goals and you knew Rangers were never going to be able to lift it because they were so far off it. They didn't have a spark from the bench either.

"Rangers struggled to deal with runners from midfield. They're all over the place with the goals. It comes back to just doing the simple thing. Rangers have been very good at that since Clement came in but recently they've stopped doing that.

"It's a massive blow for Rangers but you've got to look at Clement that he will get this team back firing in the week. It's a massive game on Wednesday night now. Rangers need to win to stay in touch with Celtic."

Sutton: Rangers players expected to win

Sky Sports' Chris Sutton:

"It's a sore one for Rangers. This is such an important game to grab it by the scruff of the neck, play with intensity - it wasn't there in the first half. They didn't react, they were miles off it. I'm amazed by that with what's at stake.

"Rangers started the game expecting things to happen. You can't do that. They were so lethargic in the first half. You thought they were going to step up a level but it was Ross County who were sharper and came out with more hunger. We all expected Rangers to win the game - and I think the Rangers players expected that. That was their downfall.

"This Rangers team should have been good enough to beat Ross County. We've praised Philippe Clement all season about getting a tune out of the players when he's made lots of changes. Maybe today he'll reflect on this and it was too many changes once again."

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