As the dust settles on Rangers’ Premier Sports Cup defeat to Celtic, the penalty kicks loss is bound to hurt. And not just supporters.
Philippe Clement’s new-look Rangers team went to the well twice in three days to put in bumper performances against Tottenham Hotspur and then our Old Firm rivals.
Having just ran out of gas in the final moments of the League Cup Final at Hampden, the match has largely been overshadowed by the penalty kick that never was.
It’s a moment which has been met with the usual tepid rebuttals by the SFA et al and one which Rangers fans are hoping is a landmark after a succession of big VAR decisions in Celtic’s favour.
Between the politicking of Celtic, how close the side was to glory at Hampden and the fact many of these Rangers players are now starting to see how things work in Scotland, we reckon the team has two clear choices.
Philippe Clement can learn Steven Gerrard lesson
The first option involves Rangers bleating into the night about things which did not go their way at Hampden.
In fact, it’s fair to say things have not gone Rangers’ way in this fixture plenty of times as of late, with Philippe Clement still without an elusive first Old Firm win in six attempts.
There are times when Rangers have been well beaten of course but there are several moments where VAR intervened to bail Celtic out of trouble.
It served a similar purpose at Hampden over the weekend and it’s easy to buy into a suggestion the game isn’t so much rigged, but rather stacked against the Ibrox side.
It’s a defeatist attitude which seeped in during the latter stages of the team that Steven Gerrard built and we’re sure Philippe Clement will work tirelessly to eradicate any such notion from his dressing room.
Indeed, Gerrard himself experienced similar hurt at Hampden back in 2019 when Celtic defeated Rangers courtesy of an offside goal in the Betfred Cup Final.
A matter of days later Rangers went into Celtic’s ‘lion’s den’ and left them wanting.
It’s a lesson Philippe Clement and the Rangers team must heed with another battle brewing on the horizon.
Rangers team must build siege mentality
The second option is one that will be much more to the Belgian’s liking.
The Ibrox side can wallow in the frustrations of Hampden’s outcome or look back on this experience as a crucial one in catapulting Rangers back to their rightful place as Scotland’s premier side.
An exhausted Rangers – who were without several key players – not only went toe to toe with our rivals but really had the opportunity to finish them off within our own hands.
Any notion that this Rangers side cannot compete with Celtic was banished at Hampden and the Rangers team must be licking their lips at that Ibrox Old Firm in a fortnight’s time.
A lot of these players are fresh into Scottish football and even the most carnaptious observer would agree the young side are beginning to click in recent weeks.
With Celtic’s politics and media games adding to the frustrations of Rangers fans, the team can make everything obsolete by winning comfortably on the park.
If anything, the last few days must’ve shown the Rangers team exactly what they’re up against.
Far from dissuade them, we expect it’s going to make them hungrier than ever.
