Celtic fans will love Philippe Clement's recent comments

Rangers FC v St. Johnstone FC - William Hill Premiership
Rangers FC v St. Johnstone FC - William Hill Premiership | Ian MacNicol/GettyImages

Celtic overcame a shaky first-half performance and scored four times after the break to win 4-1 against Hearts away at Tynecastle Park. The result means that they now have a lead over Aberdeen of 3 points. Of course, that is very little when compared to their 11-point gap with the Rangers, who once again failed to win this weekend.

Yet, it looks like Philippe Clement's future with the club is secure for the time being. It is worth remembering that he signed a long-term extension with the Rangers merely months ago and that makes it even tougher for them to show him the exit door.

One thing that has been pretty constant over the Clement era at Ibrox is the Belgian manager's ability to seek out silver linings even on the stormiest of days. Things like talking about shots on target after comfortably losing a Glasgow Derby to Celtic.

And judging from his recent comments, it looks like he is continuing to look for such silver linings. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Clement told the Daily Record:

"Fans can think what they want. That is their right also. I never give up if something is not possible.

“I see also what I see in the second half and everybody also sees what I see in the second half. We need that level much more over the next couple of months and take many more points.

“Of course, it’s a big gap and you don’t know how many points other teams will lose along the way.

“But we need to get more points. And you see also, if you play like we played in the second half then we will get more points.

“But we need to put that as a standard as the team, for everybody, that’s what I said in the dressing room."

Celtic fans will love Philippe Clement's recent comments

It remains to be seen how the season goes for the Rangers from here on forward. They seem to be struggling with the same issues that they have had for years, the inability to deliver when the pressure is on them.

This weekend, they had a good chance to close the gap with at least Aberdeen. But they failed to win, only getting a draw against Dundee United.

On the other hand, when Celtic needed to deliver, especially after a poor showing in the first 45 minutes of the game against Hearts, they stepped up to the plate and did. That might be the biggest difference between the two teams right now. That's why the Hoops are winning consistently.