Alasdair Lamont: ‘League Cup final could define the season for Rangers’

Rangers approach the twin challenges of Tottenham and Celtic in much-improved fettle after a four-game winning run in which performances have got better, goals have begun to flow and their defence has been breached just once.

Having commentated on the 6-0 victory over Kilmarnock, it was fascinating to watch the players’ confidence increase by the goal. Combinations suddenly began to click as the patterns of play worked on in training came to fruition when it actually mattered.

No one is pretending Rangers are all of a sudden the finished article, but they are in a markedly better place than they were after the home draw against Dundee United, particularly in Europe where they are already virtually assured of a play-off place, meaning anything they take from the meeting with Ange Postecoglou’s side is a welcome bonus.

But it is the League Cup final against Celtic on Sunday that could define the season for Rangers. Brendan Rodgers’ squad is significantly stronger than Philippe Clement’s and have shown this season they are capable of playing a standard of football way beyond what Rangers have managed.

Nonetheless, while Rangers have not won a derby of note since the Scottish Cup semi-final of 2022, this one-off game represents an opportunity to reassert themselves in this fixture and for Clement to show he is able to make his squad more than the sum of their parts.

Two heavy defeats are not an outlandish prospect for Rangers in the coming days yet neither are two positive outcomes and some silverware to boot.

For that to happen, Rangers must play with that aforementioned confidence, casting aside any inferiority complex to show that, despite a gulf in resources, they can still be a force to be reckoned with.