Philippe Clement considering Jose Cifuentes Rangers red card appeal as he reveals what midfielder told him after VAR call

Philippe Clement dubbed Rangers a proper team - and revealed he will weigh-up appealing Jose Cifuentes’ red card after the midfielder added to his Viaplay Cup Final selection headache.

With crocked trio Tom Lawrence, Nico Raskin and Ryan Jack already on the sidelines the Ibrox boss’ midfield problems mounted when Cifuentes saw red in the 45th minute of the 3-1 home win over Dundee for catching Amadou Bakayoko late. Kevin Clancy upgraded his original decision to book the Ecuadorian after being sent to the monitor by VAR Steven Kirkland.

But Clement said his player insists he pulled out of the challenge and will now wait to review the incident himself before making a decision on an appeal. With Danilo also on the sidelines ahead of a massive week that sees Rangers head for a crucial Europa League clash with Real Betis before facing Aberdeen at Hampden next Sunday, Clement was dealt another curveball by Cifuentes red.

And the boss said: “I’ve not seen the images back. Jose told me he lost the ball and wanted to win it back. He wanted to block the ball but the other guy is a split second faster and tackles through the ball, there’s contact. Jose tries to avoid it, he didn’t go through it, so I want to see things back to have a clear and good opinion so we can make an assessment the next few days.

“I am a glass half full man, I don’t want to be a half empty guy. I don’t want to look at the problems, I need to find solutions. It has not been easy, we had a few in the first few weeks. The players are giving me good solutions.”

Rangers showed guts to fight back from losing a sixth minute goal and claim three points that keeps Clement’s unbeaten run in check after 12 games. Goals from Cyriel Dessers, a James Tavernier penalty and