Philippe Clement backs ‘really important’ Rangers captain James Tavernier

Philippe Clement stressed James Tavernier’s importance to Rangers ahead of their William Hill Premiership opener at Tynecastle on Saturday.

There has been much speculation about the Gers captain’s future, with reports of interest from Turkish clubs Besiktas and Trabzonspor.

In a recent in-house interview the 32-year-old committed himself to the Ibrox club, although the message did not go down well with all Gers supporters, some of whom were unhappy about Celtic winning yet another league title last season, along with the Scottish Cup.

The right-back, who joined the Govan club in 2015, missed a chunk of pre-season training with a hip flexor injury but played in recent friendlies against Birmingham and Union Berlin.

Clement, who brought the League Cup back to Ibrox last season, told a media conference that his skipper would take his usual place in the side against Hearts in Gorgie.

The Belgian, speaking on the day he extended his contract as Ibrox boss to 2028, was asked if Tavernier would be captain and said: “Yes. I give it (information) one time a year. It is one time I give my team selection.

“He was very important last season. You know in the moments that you don’t win everything that everybody looks at the captain.

“That’s part of the job. He fits that role well because he can manage that.

“I have seen in the past a lot of people break in that situation.

“I think that he had one disadvantage last season that he played all the games and that is also my responsibility.

“So because of that he was not as fresh as he should be in moments, so that is something that we want to change this season.

“I think Tav can have a really strong season and he is really hungry for that. I am very confident and he has been really important with his goals and assists.”

Clement revealed some statistics that encouraged him with regards to his bid to make and keep his squad fit, in response to the injuries which bedevilled the club last season.

Clement said: “We have done a lot. We have done 15 per cent more distance in the training than the year before.

“We have done 71 per cent more sprint distance in pre-season, 70 per cent more high-intensity runs, we have done much more prevention work with the players.

“So we already have seen less injuries, but it doesn’t mean it is a guarantee we won’t have injuries because you can’t change the human body in five or six weeks.

“We have made several of them strong already, but there is still a way to go

“It is not the end of the pre-season, it will last two or three months but we need to combine it with games.”

Rangers will play home games at Hampden Park until the end of September at least while a delayed refurbishment of one of the stands at Ibrox is completed and Clement believes the Light Blues fans will be key to a seamless move.

He said: “We need to make Hampden our home for the moment.

“The best people to help us in that way is our fans so we count a lot on them, like they count on the team to give their best every second they are here in the building or in the stadium.

“So we need to create this unique atmosphere in Hampden. That is our target.”