Dujon Sterling has shed light on the pivotal conversation with manager Philippe Clement that marked a turning point in his Rangers career. Sterling, who spent much of his time on the sidelines under former manager Michael Beale, revealed the impact of Clement’s arrival and the subsequent boost in confidence that saw him play 15 times in just a few months.
Sterling shared, “This gaffer has come in and saw what I was doing every day on the training pitch and said to me, ‘I don’t understand why you aren’t playing.’ He had the confidence and the belief in me to play me. I’ve got to thank him. That just shows you how quickly football can change. You just have to keep working every day as I was doing.”
The Englishman’s resurgence on the field comes after a period of uncertainty and setbacks, including injuries and illnesses that have plagued his career. Sterling also opened up about a mysterious eye issue that surfaced earlier in the season, hindering his vision and prompting concerns about his ability to contribute to the team.
“Back at the start of November, I woke up one day and had a couple of black lines in my eye (line). I think the term they use is floaters. I had that, and it was still giving me issues for a couple of weeks,” Sterling explained. “It was blurry at the top of my eye, so I couldn’t really see anything on my right side. I said to the gaffer that I wanted to play. But say, for example, it was 0-0, and in the last minute, a ball comes over and I can’t see it.”
Despite expressing his desire to play, Sterling prioritized the team’s well-being and chose not to risk playing while not at 100%. He credited manager Philippe Clement for his understanding and support during this challenging time.
“I didn’t want to affect the team by playing when I knew I wasn’t 100 per cent right. He said that’s fine and to take as much time as I needed to get it sorted and that they’d fully support me,” Sterling recalled.
The defender sought medical advice, but even specialists could not diagnose the issue. “Literally nothing. They just couldn’t say. Even now I don’t know. I’ll have another check-up in a couple of weeks. It’s just a time thing. There was nothing to take. They said they could do laser, but that might affect me when I was older, so I decided just to wait,” Sterling stated.