When playing for Rangers, you need to win trophies – that was the short and sweet message from James Tavernier that needs to resonate in the dressing room.
Following on from May’s Scottish Cup final victory, most of those involved that day will go to Hampden once again, aiming to book a place in another final. It represents the chance to take a step forward, to secure consecutive cup wins in Scotland as well as the likely challenge of overcoming Celtic to secure the feat.
Rangers will have struck a blow to the psyche of Jim Goodwin’s side with the recent smash and grab at Pittodrie but especially due to cup disappointments in the Dons favour during the Steven Gerrard era, there will be an extra motivation for Michael Beale to put down another marker in these early days of his reign.
The manager will be raring to go for his first shot at Hampden glory and if his men are to secure a slot for the February final, he will need his captain and the other key protagonists to set the tone on the pitch this Sunday. The desire to win must be evidenced and the skipper reiterated that need during Thursday’s press conference:
“It’s an early cup you can win and you want to get your hands on the trophy as early as possible so this is a great opportunity to do that. Every season sets our targets and this season we have set our targets so we hope to win the first domestic cup.”
“When you’re playing for Rangers you need to win trophies and we’re doing everything we can as a team to do that.”