Philippe Clement hails Rangers mentality but will seek explanation for penalty decisions - 'I want the reasons'

What the Kilmarnock and Rangers managers said after the match at Rugby Park

Rangers manager Philippe Clement celebrates in front of the travelling fans after the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

Philippe Clement praised Rangers’ “resilience, mentality and solidarity” as they came from behind to defeat Kilmarnock and remain two points clear at the top of the table.

The Ibrox side trailed to Danny Armstrong’s early penalty but two second-half goals in quick succession from James Tavernier and Tom Lawrence proved enough to land the victory.

Clement joined his players to celebrate in front of the large travelling support and the Belgian said it felt like an important win for his team.

He said: “[We showed] resilience, mentality, solidarity and the quality to adapt. After 10 minutes you get this penalty against you which was a frustrating moment. You then have an opponent who sits back and waits for your mistakes to make counter attacks and be dangerous.

“Our tempo was too slow in the first half. We needed some time to adapt because it was a totally different kind of football. At moments I felt my players were like Bambi on ice. They had to adapt to that and we spoke about it at half-time.

“After that they were great. We were massive in every sense, the resilience, the tempo, the fighting spirit. This is not a group of players anymore who stop or quit or become nervous or islands. They stick together, they fight hard and they show quality.

“Without that mentality you cannot win titles. That is one thing. But it is about confirming this game by game.”

Clement also felt Rangers should have had a late penalty when Scott Wright’s cross appeared to brush Lewis Mayo’s arm but VAR did not award it.

He added: “We had a penalty given against us but we could have had an easier last five minutes if we’d also been given a penalty. I want to hear the reason why they give the first penalty and the second not. That’s really not clear for me.”

Derek McInnes was full of praise for his team’s performance and felt the outcome came down to key moments.

The Kilmarnock manager said: “In terms of performance there was nothing between us and Rangers tonight. But Jack Butland’s save at 1-0 just confirms how good he is.

“Tavernier’s free kick, at first I thought he had gone around the wall and was blaming my goalie and shouting at my goalie coach, but the height he got to get it up and over the wall was top class.

“And for their second goal the ball breaks to Tom Lawrence and it was an unbelievable strike. But I felt overall we were good value to get something from the game. Our supporters turned up believing we could win today and that’s a sign of how far we've come.”