In any domestic cup, for Rangers, the only concern about the draw should be whether or not we are at home or away.
Thankfully, we have avoided going to plastic pitches or tricky away grounds in the depths of winter and Ibrox is the stage once again, this time, hopefully, we will be talking about the quality of the performance, rather than a series of bizarre incidents.
Michael Beale, against Partick Thistle, thought that having better players on the pitch would be enough for a comfortable afternoon, however, he soon found out that by picking too many who were short of game time led to exactly the sort of display that should probably have been anticipated – rusty is an understatement.
This week though, the message has been altogether different and the Gers gaffer has hinted that we will be going strong from the start:
On paper, it looks like an easy team to pick, Beale has pretty much said that the players in possession of the jerseys will keep their places but there are one or two players on the fringes who will see plenty of game time if all goes according to plan.
Ridvan Yilmaz, John Souttar and Ianis Hagi add a quality to the squad that we have lacked almost all season and I’d expect them to make early appearances but off the bench, all three are still relatively early into their return to full fitness and there is no need to rush them. Alfredo Morelos also has a point to prove when he comes on.
I said before the Partick Thistle game that I thought starting strong and then making changes was the best way to go, it would appear that Michael Beale has learned this lesson the hard way.