Sport
Under Philippe Clement, Kenny Miller refers to the 29-year-old as the Rangers best player.
Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller believes that John Lundstram has been Rangers’ “best player” under Philippe Clement.
The ex-Ibrox hitman was speaking after Rangers recorded a routine 3-0 victory over the Easter Road side, who are another of Miller’s former teams.
Speaking about the strides made under Philippe Clement, Kenny Miller was initially asked about the progress of Ridvan Yilmaz in recent Rangers matches.
But the 111-goal former Rangers forward couldn’t resist praising John Lundstram who continues to impress under the Belgian manager.
Kenny Miller on John Lundstram & Ridvan Yilmaz
Kenny Miller was talking after John Lundstram and Ridvan Yilmaz combined to open the scoring in the Rangers victory over Hibs at Easter Road.
Lundstram expertly dinked the ball over the Hibs defence before the on-rushing Yilmaz finished the move by lashing it past David Marshall.
Miller believes that the upturn in performances are in no small part down to the progress made by Philippe Clement, who has instilled an increasing confidence in his side.
“It just takes a bit of confidence and there’s one thing that Philippe Clement has done,” Miller told BBC Sportsound. “He’s uplifted every single one of these players.
“He’s getting more out of them, this is the one thing, the biggest thing for me since he’s came in. It’s the same group of players effectively.
“(John Lundstram has) been the best player for Rangers since Philippe Clement came in. There’s absolutely no doubt about it.
“He’s just uplifted them, he’s got more out of them, he’s got them in a different mindset where even when when they’re not playing great they’re still getting the job done, they’re still winning the games.
“Yilmaz falls into that category. He’s given him a bit of belief, he’s given him confidence that he’s selecting him to start games of football and his performances have been better.
“Again, that was a good performance from Yilmaz tonight.”
Philippe Clement eyes new Rangers contract
The comments about John Lundstram come amid much debate over the Ibrox future of the midfielder, who is out of contract in the summer.
One of the Gers’ most influential players, Philippe Clement was asked about the situation earlier in the week.
Claiming that it’s a financial one that both the club and John Lundstram have to sort out, there’s been a sentiment in the past that the ex-Sheffield United midfielder has not justified his big wage in Govan.
But given his return to form, Philippe Clement is clearly hopeful a deal can be struck with John Lundstram viewed as an important part of his Rangers team.
The midfielder too has made it clear he’d like to stay and, as the praise from Kenny Miller suggests, he’s certainly playing his way into a bumper contract extension.
