Philippe Clement makes surprise Rangers dressing room visit as he leaves Youth Cup Final starlets in awe with stirring message

Triumphant Rangers head coach Steven Smith has revealed Philippe Clement paid a surprise visit to deliver a dressing room message to the club’s Under-18 squad after their 2-1 victory over Aberdeen in the Scottish Youth Cup Final.

All three games came in the second half at Hampden Park with Findlay Curtis and Josh Gentles’ deflected strike cancelling out Timothy Akindileni’s opener for the Dons as the Ibrox youngsters lifted the trophy for the eighth time in their history.

And Smith confirmed in his post-match debrief that first-team manager Clement and his coaching staff asked to address the players following their jubilant on-field celebrations at the national stadium.

Smith, who was part of the Gers 2002 winning youth squad, told GlasgowWorld: “The manager was here and he came in to the changing room and spoke to the players afterwards. He’s noticed a few players, he said a few things that he’s really happy with. He’s seen real quality in terms of their technical ability in the first-half, but also that character he knows that they need at the top end of the pitch.

“He told me that he was coming to the game and the full first-team coaching staff were here tonight. We got a shout on the pitch after the match that he wanted to speak to the players, so credit to him for that. It says a lot about the man he is.

“The game was probably split over two halves. He was really happy with certain individuals, but he knows a lot of the faces as well because one thing the boys have had since he’s arrived is an opportunity to go and train with the first-team squad. So he knows a few of the names and I’m sure he’ll know a few more after tonight.”

Disappointed Aberdeen boss Scott Anderson stated: "We felt in control of the game when we took the lead. The penalty knocked the stuffing out of us and then they scored a deflected goal, so that was disappointing. And their keeper made a couple of unbelievable saves. The second half was much more like us."