The Rangers clues for starting XI shake up that Philippe Clement dropped amid Bajrami and Cortes fitness update

For the seething supporter who let rip at James Tavernier on the Ibrox doorstep, the Rangers captain is a poster boy for the club’s era of decline.

But for his boss, the skipper is a good example of how a leader should respond when times are tough. It was Tavernier and Clement who took the brunt of fan fury as Gers trudged back across the city after their 3-0 Parkhead pasting the weekend before last.

Clement found himself surrounded by a posse of irate punters demanding answers on how things have got so bad, so quickly with their team already five points adrift of their bitter rivals just four games in. But with Tavernier, it got personal. “Do us a favour and f*** off,” spat one fan in a disgraceful rant. “You’re nothing but a loser.”

A nice way to treat the man who led the club to arguably their biggest title ever just three years ago, not to mention a Europa League final 12 months later, eh? Clement’s own emotions have cooled since that painful defeat and he was calm enough on Friday as he sat down for his first media conference since that Old Firm loss to write those shocking scenes off as the result of tempers boiling over in the “heat of the moment”. And in the cold light of day, he could only praise the way his captain has responded to that ugly encounter.

“Very mature,” he said. “We talked about [what happened]. It’s not a nice thing. If you’re a captain, you’re a symbol of a team. And people see you that way. I had the same experiences before in Brugge. And I was there 10 years like Tav.

“In the moments when it’s really good, it’s really nice to be captain. And in moments when the team doesn’t perform then it’s not - but it’s not only about you.

“It’s about the team. And you don’t reach the expectations of the