There was a time, in the 1980’s and 1990’s when the league cup – or Viaplay Cup – as it is known now, seemed to reside, almost permanently, in the Ibrox trophy room spending more time under the care of Rangers than the rest of Scottish football put together.
The league cup was Graeme Souness’s first trophy as Rangers manager, as it was for Dick Advocaat, Alex McLeish and Walter Smith (second time round), it should also have been the case for Steven Gerrard but for abysmal officiating in 2019, now though, Michael Beale has his chance to follow in the footsteps of giants and get his tenure in charge off to the best possible start.
With 27 wins, Rangers are still miles ahead of Celtic in terms of overall success and this is despite not winning the trophy since 2010/11, which was the last of four consecutive finals under Smith before heading off into retirement and giving him ten winners medals in total over an incredible career at the club.
The league cup has always been hugely important. It’s the first silverware of the season and can set a team up for the rest of the campaign, the final might be later this season but this remains the truth. For Rangers, it would be an enormous psychological boost to win, for Celtic, an element of doubt might just creep into their league form if they lose. As previously mentioned, the loss in 2019 had a pivotal role in the destination of the league title.
It might not have been at Ibrox for a while but it’s time to bring it back to it’s rightful home, where it belongs and with “Rangers FC” once again engraved on it’s base.