'Why there’s much more than cup double at stake for Rangers'
A lot has been made of this first Scottish Cup final between Glasgow’s big two in over 20 years.
There’s one fact that stands out, to me, above all others. That 2002 showpiece – the ‘Lovenkrands final' due to the Danish forward’s last-gasp winner for Rangers – is the last Scottish Cup final Celtic lost. A remarkable record.
In the intervening 22 years, Celtic have been in 10 finals and won the lot. In that same timeframe Rangers have appeared in just four, winning three.
Which speaks to two things: the size of the task facing Philippe Clement and his team, and the importance of halting a sequence of derby results that must send a shudder down the spine of even the most optimistic Rangers supporter.
No Rangers team has celebrated a meaningful victory over their city rivals in over two years. You have to go back to the Scottish Cup semi-finals in April 2022 and the extra-time win Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side secured at Hampden.
The sides have met a dozen times since. Yes, Rangers did record a 3-0 win at Ibrox under Michael Beale but the title had already been won and Celtic rested players ahead of the Scottish Cup final with Inverness.
Beale’s inability to beat Celtic when it mattered cost him his job. The same fate could befall his successor if he’s not careful.
In the four derbies this season, Rangers are yet to record a win. Clement has been in charge for three of them. If he goes another without winning this weekend, there is a danger that much of the goodwill and hope he’s fostered among the fanbase could evaporate.
Such is the huge difference between a Rangers cup double and Celtic tucking away all but the league trophy in the Parkhead boardroom.
We’re not just talking about the trophy count. This final match of the season for Scotland’s big two will shape much of their respective summers. Should Celtic win, their ability to build from a position of incredible strength increases.
Conversely, should Rangers break the hoodoo Celtic currently hold over them, suddenly their season is a success.
A League and Scottish Cup double from the rubble of the Beale era? Not a bad seven months’ work from Clement, right? Add to that a much more respectable title challenge that kept Celtic honest until the penultimate game of the season.
Rangers would finally land a glove on their nemesis and take a trophy from them in the process. The kind of psychological scalp that’s been sorely missing for the men in blue since the Covid season, when they looked just as unbeatable in the derbies as Celtic have done lately.
