Philippe Clement is confident he can turn things around at Rangers and claims he's helping build the foundation for a 'healthy future'.

The Rangers manager is coming under intense scrutiny after the Ibrox club found themselves nine points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership title race by close of play on Wednesday. 

They fell to a bruising 2-1 defeat at Pittodrie, which has increased the magnitude of Rangers' next fixture - a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Motherwell at Hampden Park.

Sunday's match could see a return for Vaclav Cerny, who was absent in midweek. While, Danilo, Oscar Cortes, Rabbi Matondo, and Ridvan Yilmaz all remain on the treatment table.

"I am very confident in this longer-term story," stated Clement during his press conference on Friday. "It is about small margins and making it better.

"Last season, we turned things around in a short-time, and I am convinced we can do the same. Of course, we wanted the result on Wednesday but I saw a team that tried until the last minute. They don't give up and we will continue fighting to get more consistent football like we have seen against Malmo and FCSB.

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"There were things we did well and, for sure, things we didn't do well on Wednesday which we discussed today. Things can change fast in football with the right spirit, we are working hard with the squad to improve.

"There had to be a major turnaround in the summer, getting younger players and a cut in wages. The club knows it is the start of a better period, we don't see it in results now, but the foundations are being grown for a more healthy club in the future.

"There are several things we can do much better to get more consistent results. Our basics need to be solid all the time.

"I knew what a big challenge we would have this season, we are going to work hard to make this happen."