Rangers looked like a new team against Celtic in a dominating Old Firm performance that proves Philippe Clement can set up a team to win the big games.
The manager has seen success in Europe, but he will be relieved to lay down a marker in the game that matters most to fans.
With a squad beset by injuries in defence, Rangers had to put square pegs in round holes with a refreshing line-up featuring none of the scars from the past.
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Out with the old and in with the new for Rangers
James Tavernier is out injured for the short term, as is Jack Butland with an internal bleed which lead to the most youthful looking starting XI for some time.
Rangers average age was 24.9 to Celtic’s 27.7, and the energy levels matched.
Other than Robin Propper, the oldest outfield player was Vaclav Cerny at 27, the Dutchman being the only one in their 30s.
This is the rebuild that Rangers need and a return to the bad old ways of picking players like James Tavernier, Cyriel Dessers, Tom Lawrence and Kieran Dowell have to be a thing of the past.
Even Dujon Sterling showed that the over reliance on Leon Balogun is misplaced.
Did Rangers’ midfield bully Celtic’s?
One area of the park in particular pleased Clement with two players who have shown that they can be the beating heart of a successful Rangers.
“I don’t want to use that word because that is harsh. We dominated the midfield like we did in the League Cup final also. There we did it also,” Clement said when asked if Rangers midfield bullied Celtic’s.
“So, I wanted to see a repetition of that and I challenged the players about that because it’s a massive game, part of the game against them, because they have so much quality in this midfield and they have so much quality in their building and creating spaces for themselves and for each other.
“So, that was a really important part of the team. But it’s not only the midfield, also the attacking players worked really hard and the defence worked really hard in that way.”
In Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande, Rangers have two players who epitomise what Clement is trying to achieve.
It’s only a start. But a promising one.
