THE prospect has not been in the consciousness of many in recent years. Now, though, it should be at the forefront of every Rangers mind.
The status as Scotland’s most successful club is under serious threat. In terms of a legacy, losing that heralded position is not the one that the Rangers hierarchy would have wanted to leave behind.
Victory over Michael Beale’s side on Sunday saw Celtic lift the League Cup for the 21st time. The Premiership title that will be secured sooner rather than later will take the Parkhead roll of honour to 115 major trophies and the historic benchmark set by their Old Firm rivals is now very much in their sights.
Beale was tasked with adding to the 117 accolades – comprising of 55 league flags, 34 Scottish Cups, 27 League Cups and the European Cup Winners’ Cup – when he was appointed as manager in December. He failed to deliver his first silverware at Hampden and the importance of the Scottish Cup cannot be understated now that Ange Postecoglou has a Treble within touching distance.
The situation across the Old Firm divide was spelled out in black and white and green and white a week apart. The meaning behind the messages told their own story.
A banner unfurled during the win at Livingston proclaimed ‘Two trophies in 11 years, uphold the standards that matter’ as the Union Bears upset their manager and gave their rivals an open goal to aim for.
It was one that the Green Brigade duly capitalised on. In the seconds after the final whistle, a message reading ‘22 trophies in 11 years. We set the standards’ was displayed while Postecoglou and his players celebrated a deserved triumph.
Beale revealed before the final that he had been irked by the message from his own supporters and he, regardless of the protestations from some of those involved, took the display personally. A public call for unity was made after Beale made his feelings clear behind closed doors.
Ultimately, it is what the 42-year-old oversees on the pitch that matters above all else. Beale has an appreciation of the history of the club, an understanding of the value system that helped build it and he will know full well what it would mean for Rangers to be overtaken by Celtic in the Scottish football title table.
There are mitigating factors in the way the deficit has been reduced by the green half of the city and the years that Rangers spent climbing back through the leagues, rebuilding on the park as well as off it, offered Celtic a free hit at the trophies on offer. It was duly taken advantage of, but recent seasons, where the playing field has been more even, are damning from a Rangers perspective.
One league title – even one which was as historic and cherished as number 55 – is not an acceptable return and the two campaigns after that success have been woeful in Premiership terms as an opportunity to consolidate, even dominate, has been squandered at Ibrox.
Rangers didn’t have the quality on either side of the white line before Steven Gerrard’s appointment in 2018. The cup record during his reign has been well documented and Beale now has a chance to make amends for his part in it despite losing a second final to Celtic.
Defeats to Aberdeen in both cup competitions left Rangers helpless to prevent Celtic sweeping the board in that first season and the achievement was repeated the following term as Covid brought a premature end to the campaign but couldn’t halt the Hoops.
Rangers have never had the look or feel of a team that could be as consistent in their collection of titles and trophies. This could have been an age to savour for supporters, but they have been let down time and again by successive managers and a team who have not fulfilled their potential.
When Gerrard was finally able to dethrone Neil Lennon’s side in the Premiership, he faltered badly elsewhere. Given the position of strength that season, losing to St Mirren and St Johnstone and seeing both cups end up at McDiarmid Park was unforgivable.
Beale cannot be held accountable for the defeat to Hibernian at Hampden last term or take any of the credit for the Scottish Cup success in May that was delivered by Giovanni van Bronckhorst just days after the heartache of Seville. He must, though, find a way to turn a team that have stumbled more often than they have succeeded into one which can conquer rather than compete.
This is a group that have given supporters many highs in terms of individual results but it has not delivered sustained silverware. Quite simply, it has not won anywhere near enough and this era will be remembered for the lows as much as the highs.
Captain James Tavernier spoke about the process of picking up his team-mates to go again, about learning and growing, in the aftermath of the defeat on Sunday afternoon. The interview, like those conversations, have been heard too often and the next evolution of the side must accomplish what this current one has not been able to and win time after time in the manner that is expected at Ibrox.
The record over the last five years cannot be defended and such a meagre haul should never be accepted. If it is, Rangers won’t just see their trophy tally surpassed by Celtic, they will have to sit back and watch as their rivals continue to largely monopolise the game here.
Talking about winning has been easier than actually doing it in these past few seasons. The statistics tell their own story and Beale must now change the narrative and the protagonists as he dismissed the use of ‘rebuild’ to describe the process that must see Rangers evolve and triumph next term and thereafter.
Good teams win matches but great teams win medals. As this squad prepares for what must be its most substantial overhaul since Gerrard arrived, many members of it will have to face up the harsh truth that they have been second best too often and their respective legacies will be remembered as such.
The achievements of Celtic over such a sustained period are remarkable. Even the changes of manager from Brendan Rodgers to Lennon and then onto Postecoglou have not interrupted the ruthless pursuit and earning of honours and that is the challenge that Rangers must rise to whenever their next day of glory arrives.
Winning leagues and cups is about character as much as quality. Both have been questioned at Ibrox at various stages and Beale must find a way to address the situation inside one transfer window if Rangers are to stem the tide of Celtic medals and avoid the ultimate accolade in the history books being taken away from them.
The league tables never lie. Right now, either does the medal table.
If the reality of the situation hasn’t hit home by now, then it really should have. Time will tell if it is already too late for Rangers.
