Philippe Clement says Rangers must erase memory of Aris Limassol shock ahead of Europa League rematch

Michael Beale had just departed the Light Blues when Rangers, under the guidance of club hero Steven Davis, were shocked by a 2-1 Europa League defeat in Cyprus.

Davis took charge for the subsequent 3-0 win at St Mirren before Clement arrived from Belgium and since then he has been unbeaten with six wins and two draws.

After four Group C fixtures Rangers are in second place, two points behind Real Betis who they play in Spain in the final game next month, and victory against Aris would guarantee European football in the new year and Clement is only looking forward.

"I don't want them to think about the last game because it can always create some negativity in your heads," said the Belgian, who will be without defenders Leon Balogun and Ridvan Yilmaz.

They are not in the European squad, while centre-back Connor Goldson is suspended to miss out alongside injured midfielders Nico Raskin and Ryan Jack, with winger Scott Wright a doubt due to sickness and a muscle problem.

"In a lot of moments we have been really good," Clement added.

"It was not good in Aberdeen on Sunday (a 1-1 draw) for the first 15 minutes and we had a really good meeting around that, the things that went wrong and the things that went right the 75 minutes after that, so that is a new lesson for all the group.

"Aris is a tough challenge because they are a difficult team. They attack with a lot of numbers, have a lot of speed and several individuals who can decide the game with one action.

"They play less predictably than other teams because the attacking part is based on individuals rather than the collective. So we need to play an organised game and be smart."

Clement was asked about the possibility of sin bins coming into the game as well as VAR being deployed more widely.

Temporary dismissals of players for offences such as dissent and specific tactical fouls were backed by the International Football Association Board at its annual business meeting this week.

It was also reported that IFAB has been discussing if VAR could extend its remit to verifying free-kicks, checking second yellow cards that lead to red cards, and for corners, although football’s lawmakers insist no changes will be made to VAR that would cause more delays in matches.

Clement believes the use of sin bins would turn football into a “circus” and, although a fan of VAR, he is not keen on extended powers.

He said: “That is a difficult thing for me because I think it becomes a little bit of a circus with players coming in and out constantly during the game.

“Some people are already protesting against VAR because it stops the game and the referee needs to go off and on but it makes the game more honest.

“You need to see the negatives things are for me, less than the positive things in that way, that you get more honest results so I am positive about that.

“But if the players need to go off for two minutes, five minutes or whatever, because of a yellow card, what is the moment to come on?

“It is already difficult at the moment if you have an injured player and he is on the sideline, it is sometimes difficult to get them in and you have a big discussion with the referees, where is the ball and what is the danger and whatever.

“So I think it would create more fuss than necessary. I don’t think it is good to stop the game more than it is now.

“It is necessary to be really good in the important decisions. If we stop the game all the time we don’t get fluid football and it destroys the game.”