Clement makes out of contract Rangers players admission, Rodgers hails Celtic 'game-changer' vs Aberdeen

After Celtic treated their fans to some Scottish Cup fear in their six-goal thriller against Aberdeen, they can now take a breath and look forward to the final as they await to find out who will be joining them.

After going behind in just the second minute, regaining the lead on two occasions and then suffering an agonising Aberdeen equaliser at the death of extra time, Brendan Rodgers’ side squeezed their way to the final two on penalties.

The spotlight is now on Rangers and whether they will be joining their Glasgow rivals or if Hearts can get the better of them on the night.

Clement’s admission over out of contract players

Philippe Clement currently has a number of players whose contracts are due to expire this May, including the likes of John Lundstram and Borna Barisic. The two have both been key players in this season’s title push but as things stand, they will soon be joining the rest in exploring new chapters as their terms at Ibrox expire.

The manager was asked ahead of today’s clash with Hearts about those who are running down their contracts. For Clement, it’s not something that’s troubling him and he remains confident that those due to become free agents are still completely focused on the tasks at hand with Rangers.

“Two hundred percent. I don’t have many hairs on my head but there are none that has a doubt about John. He loves this club, he is full of passion for this club, about everything. There is not any doubt about that. If I get a feeling that they are not with their mind here, then it’s an easy decision.

“But I haven’t had that question mark about ANY of the players who are at the end of their contract. I see how they are performing now, what they are doing in training and doing in the games.”

Rodgers hails Celtic ‘game-changer’

The exhilarating clash against Aberdeen left Rodgers with a lot to digest in his post-match press conference. While he discussed a lot from the match, including Joe Hart’s penalty in the shootout, he took time to praise James Forrest, who he brought on in the second half to add ‘calmness and authority’.

“He was absolutely brilliant, he changed the game for us,” the Hoops boss said. “It was just his composure and his quality. We started to keep the ball in the final third, he got the goal. He’s just a big-game player with big-game experience.

“I wanted to bring someone on with calmness and authority and James had that. He’s shown recently what a big part he has to play in the final part of the season, especially with Daizen Maeda being out for us.”