The Light Blues have come in for some heavy criticism for their abject performances over the past couple of weeks, and many have suggested their push to knock Celtic off their Scottish Premiership perch could be over.
Clement understands the fury that’s been directed his way, but is eager to change the mood and secure Rangers’ spot in the Scottish Cup final with a win over Hearts – having already lifted the Viaplay Cup earlier this season.
“It’s always exciting to play a semi-final,” he said. “We are close to a final, to play at Hampden, we have had a good experience there, and we are two games away from a trophy. So, everybody is really excited about that.”
On the mood in the dressing room ahead of facing Hearts, he stated: “Hungry. Desire to have a new game to prove themselves and that’s what I expect also.”
Rangers have endured a tricky run of form – failing to register a victory in their last three league attempts and losing momentum in the Scottish Premiership title race.
It has now been taken out their hands, unless they can defeat Celtic next month by a significant margin, while winning all the other remaining games.
Addressing concerns that the belief to win every game and confidence has dropped significantly this past month, Clement explained: “It is always, of course, if you win ten games in a row you have more belief than if you lose two times.
“But this is Rangers. This is a club where you always need to fight and every point you lose it is like you are going through hell. That is this world and that is good, that is also the challenge.
“It is now interesting to see which players can live in that way. It is an exciting place to be because on the other side you can go also to heaven, when you win games and win trophies.
“In other teams where it is not so important to win points or it is not something dramatic when you lose points, you cannot go to heaven also because those are not clubs that wins trophies. This is something you need to embrace.”
