Philippe Clement bluntly responds to Rangers question over John Lundstram selection call as he lands two boosts for cup final

Philippe Clement remained tight-lipped on his Scottish Cup final team selection after casting his verdict on an “experimental” Rangers side, who played out a 3-3 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle on the final day of the Premiership season.

The Ibrox boss handed a number of fringe players including 21-year-old full-back Robbie Fraser and Hampden specialist Scott Wright their final auditions ahead of next weekend’s end-of-season showpiece at the national stadium.

And the Belgian indicated he will assess closely which players could return from injury in time to face newly-crowned league champions Celtic, with Abdallah Sima and Dujon Sterling both returning from recent setbacks as second half substitutes to stake their claim for a starting jersey.

He stated: “We will see, it was positive Abda and Ridvan could take some minutes today. We will see if Leon Balogun can be fit again. We are going to see in the week so in that way it is difficult for me to plan the starting 11 and what players are going to make it. We need to assess with the medical and performance staff how many players are available and for how many minutes.”

Asked if midfielder John Lundstram - who served the second of a two-match suspension on Saturday following his red card in the Old Firm clash -will come straight back into his starting XI at the national stadium, Clement responded bluntly: “I never discuss my teams before games, which makes it a little bit difficult for my colleagues.”

Clement was then quizzed on whether he will give players needing to prove their fitness until Saturday morning ahead of the game.

He admitted: “It's a difficult answer to give because I don't know yet what the story will be. A player could be fit on Friday and play some minutes and I need to wait until that moment. I don't like this situation but it's been that way for a few weeks.

“I saw a team fighting and giving their best, also the young boys. We need to pay attention to the really positive things if you see how the young boys are growing into the team.

“Ross (McCausland) scored a really good goal and that was a player last year who had trained only five times with the first team all season, now he has played a lot. It's a pity he was kicked off the pitch for 8-10 weeks when his momentum was growing. I see positive things also about Robbie (Fraser), Cole McKinnon, Johnly (Yfeko). We are working hard on that and it's a positive thing.”