Rangers players put on penalty kick practice ahead of Benfica rematch

The Belgian has ensured that his players have practised spot kicks during training at Auchenhowie this week because he believes there is a strong possibility the encounter with the Portuguese champions will be decided by a shoot out.

“I like numbers and I like statistics,” he said at a packed pre-match press conference yesterday as he looked ahead to the meeting between two rivals who drew 2-2 over in Lisbon last week.

“The chance of getting extra-time has become much bigger now with the rules saying that away goals don’t count any more. That means that the chance is much bigger that you have extra-time and that you have penalties than it was in the past. So of course we need to practice penalties.” 

READ MORE: Philippe Clement issues Rangers players with referee instruction

This European tie is just too delicately balanced to call despite the undoubted quality of the visitors and could easily, as the Rangers manager predicted, only be settled after over 120 minutes of action.

But could the 50,000-strong crowd which will file through the turnstiles before kick-off despite the unfortunate 5.45pm start prove decisive?

Clement is certainly hoping the home support can give the cinch Premiership leaders a vital edge over their celebrated opponents and roar them to a lucrative place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

The former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco coach struggled to single out a favourite “fans moment” from his time in Scotland as he chatted to newspaper reporters ahead of the Benfica game yesterday. 

However, he revealed that Rangers could have sold out the stadium three times over such is the level of excitement among their fanbase and expressed optimism the backing which his charges will receive will make a huge difference.

"That's a difficult question because we have already had a lot of special moments,” he said. "That's maybe the most difficult question I have been asked in five months!

"When I first arrived, the welcome I got was special, for sure. But I think in terms of the challenge and an electric atmosphere, I would say our game at home to Sparta Prague.

"We knew we were playing a really good team and we had to beat them. Also, maybe because just a few weeks before, there was not electric atmosphere in the stadium. So it was a big change.”

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Clement added: "For this game, I hope that the fans surprise me. I think if we can qualify for the next round, they can blow the roof off the building.

“We are going to need them in every second of the game. And we are going to need the fans to stay positive and keep pushing until the last second. I say that because we are a team that can score two goals in a few minutes, as we have proved a few times against the likes of Hearts."

Clement is missing several key men to injury – Oscar Cortes, Danilo, Kieran Dowell, Abdallah Sima and Dujon Sterling are all sidelined while Ross McCausland is a doubt – and important games at home and abroad are coming thick and fast.

Will the backing of the supporters ensure that James Tavernier and his team mates can produce their very best football and get a victory against a side that comprised Angel Di Maria, Joao Neves and Nicolas Otamendi last week?

“It will help,” said Clement. “That’s why we also need the fans in that way. Of course, players will get tired, but you also need players who can perform and stay at the same level, or even raise it, when they are tired.

“That’s part of being a player who plays European football, who goes again every three days. It’s an evolution as a player that you have to make.

“We have a few who have done it in the past and who have played already for several seasons, so they are used to that. You can see they are the ones who play the most minutes in the last couple of weeks.

“There are others who are still in this transformation period to become a player like that. It was the same for me in my first season. I was not totally ready for that. It came in the seasons afterwards. You grow physically, but also mentally in that way so you can push your limits. We’re working really hard to get that with all the players.”

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Clement himself is not, despite hardly having a moment to catch his breath since replacing Michael Beale as manager back in October, in the slightest bit fatigued and he is hoping his squad members feel the same.

The self-confessed football obsessive was asked yesterday if he was looking forward to giving some of his players a little well-earned down time during the international window.

“No,” he said. “To be honest, I’m not. I always hated to have that break. If your body and mind is used to it, you like the rhythm of playing every three days. You go from challenge, to challenge, to challenge. But then suddenly you have to wait for the next one. It becomes like an addiction and you need to step out of it. That’s not so easy.

“I remember that from those days and it’s something I have now at the end of a season, when I need a few days because you feel strange without the adrenalin that is normally there. I think the players would prefer to go, the ones that are ready for that. But we are still building a squad like that and clearly not everybody is there yet.”

Can the Rangers team that Philippe Clement has built during his time in Scotland overcome Benfica and reach the Europa League quarter-finals? It is the biggest test they have faced by far. But if the Ibrox crowd is in full voice they can record a famous triumph.