Rangers ended their season on a high at Hampden but Giovanni van Bronckhorst now has some big decisions to make this summer. What should be his priority?
KEITH JACKSON: Give Connor Goldson what he wants to stay, tell Calvin Bassey he’s going nowhere and find a striker capable of filling the boots of Alfredo Morelos. The manager has his work cut out with all three.
DAVID McCARTHY: He’s got Souttar for Goldson and he’ll have Hagi back for the problematic right side of attack, so for me, he needs an attacking midfielder and another striker even if Morelos stays. Keeping Bassey, unless a ridiculous bid comes in, should be a priority as well.
ANDREW NEWPORT : Tying down his soon-to-be out-of-contract stars Morelos, Kent and Aribo. If that trio - now into the final year of their deals - are allowed to leave for cut-price fees it will make the required rebuild all the more difficult.
FRASER WILSON: An out and out striker. If the last month has taught him anything it is that he is light of dependable number nines. A left back could be required too if someone matches the valuation of the outstanding Calvin Bassey.
Another cup final sickener for Hearts but will Robbie Neilson take this team into the Europa League next season?
KEITH: Fingers crossed. The dream scenario for Scottish football is to have two teams in the Champions League and at least one in the Europa. Hearts are going places under Neilson but he needs investment to take them there. They should speculate to accumulate in the transfer window.
DAVID: It will depend on how kind the draw is in the qualifiers but having the safety net of the Europa Conference League is massive. Neilson’s recruitment has been good, so there’s no reason to think they won’t be fine next season.
ANDREW: They will have to be more adventurous than they were at Hampden to have any chance. Failing to hit the target against a side who’d just gone 120 minutes in searing Spanish heat is poor going. The EL qualifiers won’t be easy but you’ll get nowhere if you die wondering.
FRASER: It depends on the luck of the draw in the play-offs as there’s always an array of big clubs in there. I reckon they’ll be making use of the fallback Conference League group stage and, if they recruit well, they should go all out to qualify for the knockout stages.
Are St Johnstone going to be playing top flight football next season?
KEITH: No. They’ve been flirting with the notion of going down all season and their bottle crashed spectacularly in the Highlands when they had survival in their hands. It all adds up to bad news for Callum Davidson and his players.
DAVID: Probably, but if they do they will be lucky. Finishing second bottom, then blowing a two-goal lead against an ICT team that has now played five play-off games, is pretty poor. If they survive, a vast improvement is needed next season.
ANDREW: It’s looking concerning for Callum Davidson’s men. They haven’t got going at all this season and have now blown a two-goal lead in the Highlands. I can see the A9 becoming even busier with Premiership day-trippers next season.
FRASER: Yes. But boy are they making a meal of survival. For an hour in Inverness they were streets ahead of the Championship challengers before inexplicably sitting off their opponents. Lessons will surely have been learned and the job completed in Perth tonight.
It’s all about Scotland now but the injuries are piling up for Steve Clarke. Have any dark horses played their way into his squad for the World Cup play off?
KEITH: Ross Stewart has played his way into contention and Scott Wright may have done enough to force his way in too. But, with Nathan Patterson out of action, Aaron Hickey might just have arrived on Scotland’s scene at exactly the right time.
DAVID: John Souttar and Craig Halkett were immense at Hampden and are worth recalls but otherwise I don’t see too many charging in from the fringes.
ANDREW: Scott Wright has done his chances of a first call-up no harm with his performances in Seville and at Hampden. It’s taken the Ibrox winger time to convince Gio van Bronckhorst but he’s in the form of his life right now.
FRASER: All season I’ve thought Ross Stewart at Sunderland is deserving of a call-up and his play-off final goal shows he is still in top form. If a left centre half is required to cover Kieran Tierney then Stephen Kingsley at Hearts is a good shout.
