a/c heater switches held in by clips?

While I had the dash apart my 3 year old got in the car and broke the fingers that say ac heat off defrost max ac from their perches up inside the dash. The actual fingers are ok, but they are held in by some clips, anyone have to deal with this problem? The clips are old and rotted, so I am not surprised. but I cannot get it back together without those clips in place, as the bezel just won't support them.