“We didn’t reward ourselves after dominating but I know what our situation is,” he said to Football Scotland, as shared on Sunday (3 November). “We’re missing injured players.

“In the midfield, we’re missing two important players (Ryan Jack and Nico Raskin) and also upfront.

“Some players are coming back from injury like Matondo who isn’t at his best level yet because of that. So we need to work hard to get everyone to their best level.”

There is no denying that Jack and Raskin are important players in the Rangers squad, as well as the off-the-bench impact of Matondo. But to blame their absences for failure to beat Aris Limassol is a bit embarrassing.

Raskin’s involvement in the return fixture in October was not enough to help the Gers overcome their opponents either, suffering a 2-1 defeat in Cyprus.

The problem flows much deeper than injury problems, with Todd Cantwell hooked after 36 minutes for ignoring Clement’s request to stay wide, and trusted players like Sam Lammers failing to make an impact.

To avoid relying on other results to go their way, Clement and his men will be hoping to grab all three points in the final group stage match against Real Betis. Although they have the Europa Conference League to fall back on, exile from the Champions League and Europa League is not a good look.

With Celtic miles clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, a run in Europe may paper over some of the current cracks and help build a better atmosphere around Ibrox.