Philippe Clement has been through as much adversity as any Rangers boss apart from Ally McCoist and there is still more pain to come before.
There is light at the end of the tunnel though and, had officials done their jobs and VAR been paying attention, he would be sitting with his second trophy as manager.
Clement will learn more in defeat than had Rangers beaten Celtic, with those players that he can trust standing up to be counted at Hampden.
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Who can Philippe Clement trust in Rangers’ squad
There is a core of individuals who the Gers boss will want to build his squad around, over and above experienced players like Jack Butland and John Souttar, starting in defence.
Jefte was unlucky to be booked as early as he was against Celtic after seeing opposition players get away with similar offences.
The 20-year old Brazilian had been playing well and dealing with Nicholas Khun until that point until fatigue and nerves kicked in.
Knowing that John Beaton wouldn’t have hesitated to send him off, the left back didn’t know whether to stick or twist when marking Khun before being replaced by Ridvan Yilmaz.
There was enough from Jefte, before he had to walk the tightrope, to suggest that he can be trusted in these games.
Ridvan is another who, despite seeing his penalty saved, has proven that Old Firm derbies see him rise to the challenge, rather than hide.
If he can stay fit – and that is the only problem – there is no question about his ability to be an asset for Clement in a couple of positions.
Dujon Sterling continues to impress wherever he is told to do a job.
First he kept Kyogo Furuhashi quiet, then £9m man Adam Idah in his unnatural centre half position.
As with Ridvan, he makes it increasingly hard to leave him out the team given the consistency of his performances, especially in defence.
Midfielders need more help for dynamic duo
In midfield, there are two obvious standout players; Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande.
Raskin was the best midfielder on the wet Hampden pitch and is blossoming into the engine room enforcer that it was initially hoped he could be.
Partnering Raskin, Diomande now looks at home alongside the powerhouse Belgian and caused Celtic problems all afternoon.
Nedim Bajrami might be more experienced than his Hampden midfield partners, but he has shown enough quality in the summer to suggest that it was money well spent bringing him to the club, he needs help in terms of creative options though.
Rangers forward line showing signs of recovery
Ianis Hagi showed leadership and the sort of attitude that a Rangers player needs against Celtic and also made sure that Kasper Schmeichel got both barrels after scoring his penalty in the shoot out – he seems to have the dislike of them that more in the squad need.
What is also clear, is that Danilo and Hamza Igamane can be trusted with the hope being that Oscar Cortés’ body will let him show the sort of form that saw him be one of the players of the Under-20 World Cup only a couple of summers ago.
There is a stark difference between those who seem to be on the same page as the manager, and those who just dont seem to be getting the message.
Until this balance is redressed, Clement will continue to work with one hand tied behind his back.
