Arthur Numan has told Rangers they must “draw a line” under their Scottish Premiership disappointment and refocus on ending the season on a high by securing a cup double.
The Ibrox side were top of the league at the start of March but won only four of their closing 10 matches as they finished eight points behind champions Celtic.
Philippe Clement’s team still have a chance to end the campaign with more silverware, however, when they face the Hoops in Saturday’s Scottish Cup final at Hampden – the first time the two Glasgow giants will have met each other at this stage of the competition since 2002.
Dutchman Numan, who helped Rangers to a memorable 3-2 triumph in that showdown 22 years ago, believes it is imperative that the Light Blues approach this weekend’s match with a positive mentality.
“I can imagine the Rangers squad will be disappointed at not winning the league,” said the 54-year-old, speaking at Hampden on Tuesday as he promoted the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final.
“A few weeks ago everybody thought there is a chance Rangers can win the league but then they had the Ross County and Dundee games and in one week they gave the league away.
“Winning the league is always the most important but they need to draw a line and focus on the cup final because they cannot change the league.
“The cup is a very important game because we can still win the double – the League Cup and the Scottish Cup. They need to focus on this game and forget what has happened the last couple of weeks.”
Rangers have failed to win any of their four meetings with Celtic this term, with Clement taking charge of three of those matches. Numan believes Saturday’s clash represents the perfect opportunity for the Belgian to break his duck against Brendan Rodgers’ side.
“When Clement took over he did a good job and won the League Cup but the last few weeks the results have not been what the supporters want to see,” he said.
“He can change it again by winning this one game. This is a great moment to change it against Celtic because if you beat them you can also win a trophy, and people will always remember that because then you win the double.
“It’s all about winning prizes that you can hold after the game, and because it is the last game of the season you can go on holiday knowing that you have won the Scottish Cup, which is so important.”
There are some notable similarities between this season and the 2001/02 campaign that ended with Peter Lovenkrands scoring a last-gasp winner for Rangers. Back then, Celtic had won the league, Rangers had the League Cup in the bag and the Ibrox side had changed managers mid-season.
“I didn’t realise until yesterday that it was 22 years since Rangers and Celtic last played each other in the Scottish Cup final,” said Numan. “That game always brings back good memories, it was something special.
“That was the year Alex McLeish took over from Dick Advocaat and he tried to get the spirit back in the dressing room because there was some issues, and we won the League Cup and the Scottish Cup which put the confidence back in the team.”
