Philippe Clement answers Rangers red card question as he tells fans what REALLY matters about La Manga bootcamp

The Ibrox boss was handed his marching orders during the friendly with Hertha Berlin after a blast following a foul on Scott Wright.

Philippe Clement was made to take a long lonely walk after being sent off in La Manga., writes Andy Newport in Spain.

But the Rangers boss insists his team will be marching forward together with a renewed sense of unity after their sunshine break in Spain. The big Belgian was made to take a seat on the naughty step by the seriously strict local ref after aiming a blast at his linesman following a foul on Scott Wright during the kick-about clash with the German second-tier outfit.

The Ibrox boss looked stunned when the no-nonsense whistler - who also dished out four yellows in a game that hardly merit that kind of card count - pulled out the red and he took his time processing the call as he trudged across the pitch on his way back to the Gers dressing room. Clement declined to go into much detail about what he’d said to earn his dismissal. But he was happier to talk about the benefits he hopes this week’s work out in southern Spain will have for Gers as the gear up for the second half of the season. Hertha skipper Marc Oliver Kempf’s goal on the stroke of half-time was the only disappointment as the friendly showdown ended in a narrow defeat but Clement couldn’t be happier with his team’s efforts.

He said: “I don’t even want to talk about the red card. This is a friendly game and you know that in the southern countries strange things happen. It’s not important.

“What is is the fact the team has been training really hard. We had some fans come over and watch the team train and they were really impressed by the intensity. That’s what we want all the time.

“Because of that, we lacked a bit of freshness in the game but that is not a problem because we will gain from this in the next couple of weeks. The game was just part of this training week and we have trained really hard until now.

“I wanted to see how we could play if we were really tired and we had most of the ball. We also had the best of the chances. Okay, the scoreline, but that’s not the main thing for me right now.

“The main thing for me is to have the team together all week, to work well and be ready physically to make the next steps in the next couple of weeks. We are trying to get new players in and players like Nico Raskin back and give them game rhythm.

“It was good also to get the young boys integrated into the team. But I always want to win, their keeper made some good saves also.”

Rangers had come to Spain in search of some winter sun. The skies were certainly clear but the couple of hundred supporters from Scotland who managed to blag their way in beside the official corporate party spent the game with their teeth chittering amid chilly temperatures.

The first half action wasn’t much better than lukewarm either but that was no surprise given the exertions Clement’s have put through since arriving on Wednesday. They’d been made to put in some serious graft, with double sessions designed to ramp up stamina levels ahead of a gruelling run fixtures once they return from the January shutdown.

With 15 games across three competitions to come in the space of 58 days, Clement is going to need his team to be as fit as possible and that’s why he made sure as many players as possible got minutes, sending out two different line-ups in each half.

Fabio Silva was given the job of leading out the first half XI while Ridvan Yilmaz started despite the on-going speculation over a rumoured move to Verona. Nico Raskin and Rabbi Matondo were in from the kick-off too as they stepped up their returns from injuries and it was the Welshman who tested German keeper Tjark Ernst first as he peeled off the left wing before taking aim.

Leon Balogun had to bail out James Tavernier after the Ibrox captain was left trailing when Michal Karbownik raced clear. Berlin were relegated from the Bundesliga last term and their bid to bounce back hasn’t exactly gone to plan, with Pal Dardai’s team languishing in seventh place this term.

But they showed plenty of threat on the counter and were almost in again when a Todd Cantwell fresh-air swipe set them racing forward, with Balogun again required to make a vital intervention. Hertha defender Linus Gechter did well to too to get in the way of a John Lundstram strike that looked destined for the top corner, with his header flicking it over the bar.

But it was the side from the German capital that snatched the only goal just before the ref blew for the break, as Kempf glanced home from a Marten Winkler corner. Clement swapped his team about at the break as Jack Butland, Connor Goldson, Jose Cifuentes, Scott Wright and Cyriel Dessers provided some experience to team otherwise made up of kids.

Berlin also made a string of changes but substitute Bilal Hussein took his time getting up to game speed as he repeatedly gave away possession. Wright was quickly onto his first stay pass but dragged wide, while Cifuentes blazed over after doing the same soon after.

Goldson held his hand up after being robbed by Derry Scherhant as he thanked Butland for coming to the rescue with a big save. Dessers was looking to impress following the arrival of fresh frontline competition in the shape of Silva but saw a stinging volley batted away by Ernst.

The final minutes were played out to the backdrop of a rocket barrage set off by the German support who had travelled over to the game. But there was no late fireworks as Cifuentes blew another great chance after being put through on goal by Dessers.