Club Brugge manager Philippe Clement has explained the reason for not fielding Bafana Bafana international Percy Tau during their Champions League clash with Galatasaray.

The 25-year-old plunged down the pecking order at Club Brugge as he started on the bench during their goalless draw with the Turkish giants on Wednesday.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns star was dropped for the first time since joining the Belgian club following their derby win over Cercle Bruges and sat on the bench for the entire 90 minutes in their Champions League group-stage opener.

‘Percy Tau? We have a lot of players and need to choose based on the game plan, tactics, coherence,’ Clement told the media.

‘Every one of my 27 players has the quality to play for Club Brugge, which means not everyone will play every game.’

Clement: “Percy Tau? We have a lot of players and need to choose based on the gameplan, tactics, coherence… Every one of my 27 players has the quality to play for Club Brugge, which means not everyone will play every game.” pic.twitter.com/TyaN2sWFnC

— Club Brugge KV (@ClubBrugge) September 20, 2019

Tau will be hoping to be back in the startling lineup when Club Brugge take on Anderlecht in the Belgian top flight on Sunday.