Rangers were delighted to have drawn Celtic in the semi-final, but were they right to express it so much?
In the wake of the Scottish Cup semi-final draw, which saw Old Firm rivals picked together in a mouthwatering tie, Graeme Murty revealed the Rangers dressing room was delighted to have drawn Brendan Rodgers’ men.
The two clubs are set to meet this weekend as the Gers go about trying to put a stop to Celtic’s second treble hopes on one front, but will now have a direct opportunity to end it on another as they have been rewarded with the chance to knock them out of the cup.
However, former Celtic and Scotland goalkeeper Alan Rough believes that the Rangers reaction should not have been so publicly revealed, and has handed Celtic an advantage in the tie.
Speaking to PLZ Soccer on the Rangers reaction, Rough said: “It took me a wee bit by surprise because I just think it gives, not an upper hand to Celtic, but a belief out there that this is the time and the place.
“You still have to [win the game], to prove that is the case, but it just shows you how far [Rangers] have come.
“I think if the same scenario would have happened a year ago, there wouldn’t been cheers from that dressing room, I think there would have been groans.
“It just shows you how far they’ve come in a year.”
Rangers will be able to gauge much better after this weekend’s match where they currently stand with Celtic. The December outing was promising, but some time has passed since then and, despite Rangers scoring a flurry of goals of late, they have been against much lesser opposition lacking defensive quality and not against the champions.
Either way, anything can happen in one game and Rangers and Murty will rightly be fancying their chances as they gear up in their attempt to reach the Scottish Cup Final.
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