Rangers’ hopes of a domestic double are over after a dramatic defeat by St. Johnstone on penalties in the Scottish Cup at Ibrox – and the Gers’ Cup woes show they still have some way to go before they are properly back to where they once were.
The Gers thought they’d sealed a place in the semi-finals after a drab 116 minutes when James Tavernier’s header left Zander Clark rooted to the spot but the Saints keeper got his own measure of revenge by setting up Chris Kane for an injury-time equaliser then saving two penalties.
In Gerrard’s three years at Rangers, the Light Blues have failed to get beyond the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup and the Gers boss himself has questioned the consistency of his players in the domestic cups before the game.
When it comes to the league, Rangers have been virtually untouchable – which makes their cup woes even more baffling.
There’s always going to be an element of variance when it comes to straight knock-out football (especially when penalties are involved) but the Ibrox side have regularly looked like a shadow of themselves when it comes to cup games.
Whatever the problem is, Gerrard needs to get to the bottom of it if he is to add to his Premiership title in the future and properly re-establish Rangers as the top team in Scotland.
However after the season Rangers have had, it’s a fairly small issue but it is something that Gerrard will have to address.
Getting the league title over the line and becoming champions of Scotland for the first time in a decade was always the main aim and the Light Blues will have that to celebrate next month.
Fans will be desperate though that next season, the club’s long wait to win either of the domestic cups in also brought to an end alongside another league title.
Once that happens, Rangers will finally be able to say the are properly ‘back’.
In other news, ‘Man mountain’: Ramsdale says Sheffield Utd have a player who’s even stronger than Sander Berge
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