John Lundstram relishing Rangers R&R as Ibrox star heads into the unknown of first Clement training camp

John Lundstram is looking forward to some much-needed R&R with his nearest and dearest.

After a relentless, frenetic schedule under new Rangers boss Philippe Clement, the Ibrox midfielder is now glad of the chance to take a load off and grab some quality time with his girlfriend and their one-year-old daughter. But the 29-year-old insists it's been anything but child’s play getting the Light Blues back on track after their disastrous start to the season.

The Gers faithful spat the dummy as Michael Beale’s Rangers reign unravelled inside the first two months of the campaign. But the toys are back in the pram, with Clement now Daddy Cool in Govan having turned this team around. The big Belgian has masterminded a Viaplay Cup triumph, found a route through to the Europa League last 16 and lit a fire under a title race that looked to have already burned itself out by the time he arrived in mid-October.

Last week’s Old Firm defeat means there’s still plenty of graft to be done in the second half of the season but for now Clement wants his men resting up as the winter break begins. Lundstram has taken the opportunity to return home to Liverpool this week, catching up with family and catching a breath too as at last Rangers enjoy a break in the midst of their relentless fixture list.

The hard work begins again next week, however, when Clement takes his team to Spain for a warm-weather training camp and a closed-doors clash with Hertha Berlin. But then, Lundstram insists it’s already been a slog every step of the way under the new gaffer.

The Scouser said: “There is a lot of work that goes into it that people don’t see.

“There is so much work that goes into getting these performances, it is not easy to just keep churning them