Addict Philippe Clement tips his Rangers stars to keep themselves hooked on Europa League adrenalin drip

As a player, Philippe Clement hated it when he was asked to unhook himself from football’s adrenalin drip.

And the Rangers boss can’t see his Ibrox stars being too keen to kick their craving for big Euro night action either. The Light Blues are currently locked into a relentless cycle of play-recover-play, with barely a spare moment to catch breath amid a hectic schedule mostly comprising three huge games a week. It’s a habit Clement knows only too well from his career as a top defender with Club Brugge and Belgium.

But the Gers manager happily admits he found the buzz of bouncing from one huge showdown to another an addictive experience. He sees a similar attachment to the hamster-wheel that is Rangers’ duel duties in the Premiership and Europa League when he looks at certain members of his squad, such as James Tavernier, Connor Goldson and John Lundstram.

There’s currently a train of thought running through the Gers faithful which says next week’s international week can’t come soon enough for those men. All three have shown moments of weariness during their side’s recent taxing run of fixtures but there’s no time to rest yet, not with Thursday's quarter-final shoot-out at home to Benfica to come before another tricky trip for the Premiership leaders at Dundee on Sunday.

Only then will Clement’s men get the chance to put their feet up. Their boss, though, isn’t in the mood to relax just yet. Asked if he was looking forward to giving his team some time off, he shot back: “No! 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.