PHILIPPE Clement has claimed the uncertainty over whether Rangers’ game in hand against Dundee will go ahead at Dens Park tonight reflects badly on the cinch Premiership as a league and stated he would be open to playing at a neutral venue.
James Tavernier and his team mates, who fought back to earn a 3-3 draw with Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday, can go two points clear at the top of the league table if they beat Dundee away in a rearranged fixture this evening.
However, there are fears the match will have to be postponed again due to the state of the playing surface – which will undergo an inspection at 11am this morning – as heavy rain has been forecast for the Tayside area.
There are suggestions the game could be played next week if it is called off – even though the top six split is set to take place this weekend – or be moved to a different stadium and Clement is unhappy there is still confusion about what will happen.
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“It is a crazy situation to go in a top league that you don’t know the day before,” he said yesterday. “We are going to travel now, we are going to stay in a hotel and we don’t know yet if the game is on tomorrow or not. That is a really weird situation.
“Okay, it can happen in extreme circumstances. I don’t think the last few years in all the top leagues it ever happened, but now when it is raining in Scotland there is every time a problem.
“It is not that in Scotland there are a lot of sunny days. It is a bad situation for the league I think, and for Dundee themselves also. I don’t think they are happy with the situation.”
Clement added: “I haven’t seen the pitch, I haven’t been on the pitch. It was clear from the moment we were there the last time that it was dangerous for players, for both teams, and it was not playable. I will see if it is another situation now. At the end, I am not the one who decides. It is the referee who decides this.
“I want a decision today. You want to prepare games, but both clubs and the federation, are on speaking terms about that. You want to prepare games, if it is not possible you want to see what is the alternative and then you need to find an alternative elsewhere and there is not much time because it is the split next week in the league.
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“That is also clear. You want an alternative and to play as fast as possible, but you need to prepare also. I think these things give a really bad image to the league and it needs to be solved in the future that it is not possible.
“I want to prepare for the game. So if we cannot play tomorrow, when are we going to play? If it's on Thursday, I would like to know today so we can train tomorrow. If the decision is made tomorrow evening, we have one afternoon, evening in the hotel in Dundee for nothing. Lost time that you cannot work with the players
“So I think it's a logical thing to make a good decision today for everybody. But that's my opinion as a manager and I think every manager has the same opinion about that. I understand that a game can be cancelled last minute or in the last hours in special circumstances but this is something that's just repeated every time it's raining. Then you can make an assessment today I think.
“If you want to play in Dundee next week, what's going to happen if it rains next week? It's strange for me because every time it rains there it's a problem. Those are things for the federation to find a solution and a good solution for football and fans. I think in this circumstance, it (a neutral venue) can be a logical choice.”
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