Rangers triumphing in the Cup final could make Celtic buckle in the Premiership

Last month, Michael Beale carried out the first part of his Rangers rebuild with a couple of new signings. February now brings the opportunity to push the belief about where it could take the club.

At the moment, the Ibrox players can feel like they are running on the spot when they see the nine-point gap to Celtic remain unchanged. He brings a psychological challenge to every Premiership game. So far with Beale, his response has been excellent.

Nine wins and one draw in ten league games is an excellent start for any manager. The problem for Beale, of course, is that Ange Postecoglou and his men show no sign of batting an eye.

Celtic have taken a remarkable level of relentlessness and turned it into their regular way of working. It has become expected. Match after match, month after month. The only way the Rangers can get close to them is by doing the same.

Beale will be delighted with his team’s ability to continue to produce results. But they have yet to find a way to start tipping the balance of power away from Parkhead.

Michael Beale will lead Rangers in the Scottish League Cup final against Celtic later this month.

The bitter Scottish rivals staged a stormy 2-2 draw when they met in January

After being somewhat unlucky to draw just the Old Firm’s last game at Ibrox, that opportunity comes on February 26.

Yes, Rangers have games against Partick Thistle and Livingston before then. And they can’t fail either. But the League Cup final casts a huge shadow over the rest of this month.

I really don’t think its importance can be overstated from an Ibrox perspective. Everything will be focused on doing well at Hampden.

It is perhaps the last chance to inject a bit of doubt into the minds of the Celts this season. Perhaps that wouldn’t make much of a difference in the current title race, because the consistency from Postecoglou’s side has been outstanding, but just as important is what it could mean for next campaign.

Nothing generates more conviction and confidence than winning a trophy. Especially against an opponent you’re trying to hunt down.

History also shows us how changes in momentum can occur. A case in point was when Alex McLeish took charge of a Rangers team far behind a dominant Celtic led by Martin O’Neill in late 2001.

The league was a lost cause, but McLeish edged past O’Neill in a League Cup semi-final to lift the trophy. Rangers then won an Old Firm Scottish Cup final.

They started the following season full of confidence and ended up claiming a treble after one of the most tense title races in history. Beale would obviously love to do something similar.

Borna Barisic scored the winner as Rangers beat Ross County 2-1 in the league on Saturday.

Adding the right players is critical to narrowing the gap. And Beale has a chance to further integrate Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin before heading to Hampden.

Cantwell is off to a promising start. The man of the match in Saturday’s win over Ross County, the run from him breaking through the line and the cross from him to set up Malik Tillman’s header is the kind of thing Rangers too often lacked early in the season. the season. English brings a little more invention and imagination.

Raskin was also on the field during his first minutes and I imagine we will see more of him in the next two games. He is interesting. I like how he talks about playing fast and forward on his passes. Again, that could add a different dimension.

Plans for the summer window will already be taking shape, I’m sure, but there are still some big questions to be answered about the existing team.

Contract situations with Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos provide two of them. Then there’s whether Tillman will sign permanently.

Beale’s desire to keep it seems clear, but a lot will depend on Tillman himself. It has been encouraging to hear him talk about how he has grown in Scottish football and how much he enjoys playing with Beale.

The goalie provides another clear area for your consideration. To say that it is a crucial position is to state the obvious. And the Rangers, over the years, have had great players in the role. Few clubs can point to such an outstanding lineage.

Allan McGregor has been the last. What a brilliant servant. So many world class stops at the biggest games.

Celtic have been in relentless form, carving out a nine-point lead over Rangers in the Premiership.

Replacing it is a tall order, but it has to happen at some point. And McGregor is now 41 years old, with another contract coming to an end on him. You wonder what his thoughts will be this summer.

Jon McLaughlin has been given opportunities this season, but it hasn’t really happened for him. I don’t want to be too critical because he has good qualities, but being number 1 for Rangers is something else. You are looking for someone exceptional.

Under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, McLaughlin started this season in possession of the shirt, but then came the first Old Firm game of the season and the mistakes in it. I don’t think we can say that he took advantage of the opportunity he was given. He can get past goalkeepers who step up within clubs. I have seen it before.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are bidding for a second successive Scottish Premier League title this season after triumphing last season.

Now Beale is rotating him back into the starting lineup for certain games, but it doesn’t always work out. McLaughlin didn’t look too good in the goal conceded to Ross County at the weekend and a bit of nervousness seemed to spread within the defence.

All defenders will tell you that they need to feel that absolute confidence behind them. If that’s not there, for whatever reason, it can eventually cause a problem or two.

With a less intense game schedule between now and the end of the season, I wonder if the Rangers manager will take another look and perhaps decide to stick with the same man as long as possible. He has already said that McGregor is still his number 1.

What happens next quarter is another matter. With the prospect of McGregor retiring, finding someone on the transfer market to match previous standards at Ibrox will be far from easy. Today, there is also the added desire to have a goalkeeper who is very comfortable with the ball at his feet to help build the game.

A fix won’t necessarily be cheap, but I think locating real quality for that last line of defense will be near the top of Beale’s summer wish list. To me it seems like a key investment in the ongoing project of trying to woo Celtic and regain top spot.

The outcome of the final could seriously affect the mood of the losing group before the matchup.