Philippe Clement points to Rangers moment of kudos that reveals EVERYTHING about what Ibrox diehards believe

Philippe Clement insists Rangers can still be proud of their Europa League exploits despite being bombed out by Benfica.

And the determined Ibrox boss insists his team are far from finished this season as after declaring they’re now targeting a remarkable Treble bid. The big Belgian’s Light Blues welcomed the Portuguese giants to Glasgow with the last 16 tie balanced on a knife edge after last week’s 2-2 draw in Lisbon. But it’s a Eagles side valued at £140million soaring into the quarter-final draw after Rafa Silva’s second-half strike silenced a thunderous Ibrox crowd.

Asked if his team has let a major opportunity to reach the last eight slip through their fingers, the Gers gaffer said: “It’s a difficult question because if you see where the team was, not five months ago, but two months ago, they could not compete in this way with Benfica. So the team’s still growing and if I see the game last week and now, on the ball it’s a big difference.

“If you see the budget of the two clubs you need, as a Scottish club, to be really proud with what the players showed. It was really tight margins and if you look back at last week, if you don’t concede the penalty which was not a penalty, then it could have been extra-time now.

“But we look at ourselves. The players showed that they can be better on the ball and they defended really hard and solid together. So we’re going to continue that story in the next weeks and months.

“That’s the most important thing now. We need to leave this European competition and to be really proud. To be first in your Europa League group and then to be really competitive in two games with a team like Benfica is something that the club can be really proud about.”

Clement’s plans were hamstrung by a