In order for Rangers to have any chance of defeating Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final on May 25, John Brown has urged his team to get out to a quick start and stick to their discipline.
Brown talked about how John Lundstram’s red card was, in his opinion, the game-changing moment in the most recent Old Firm derby loss.
Just seconds after making the score 2-1 at Parkhead, Lundstram’s first booking for a reckless attack on Alistair Johnston was upgraded to a red card by VAR, bringing the Gers down to ten players.
Brown stated, as quoted by Rangers Review: “You have to have a calm head in these games when everyone else is losing theirs.” Though I never was sent off in any Old Firm games, that’s excellent coming for me.
“Celtic has attacked us in previous games, coming out of the blocks quickly.
“They’ve set traps in every game we’ve played against them, so we need to be prepared. We must make an effort to approach them and derail them.
Rangers’ record against Celtic is 0 percent as they have only drawn three times in their four matches this season, most notably in a wild 3-3 draw at Ibrox.
The other three games have all finished in a single goal for Celtic, so if the Gers want to change the flow at the national stadium, they need to seize the opportunities that present themselves.
Attacking problems have plagued Philippe Clement’s team all season long. Despite leading scorer Cyriel Dessers’ 22 goals in his first season, he has received the most criticism for conspicuous misses in crucial games.
An Old Firm derby is the biggest game in Scotland, and because there hasn’t been one in the Scottish Cup Final in 22 years, the stakes are much higher. Rangers is trying to get over the setback of their title challenge failing.
Clement’s team could eventually defeat Celtic on Saturday if Dessers can find his shooting form, as he did against Hearts in the semi-finals. However, as Brown noted, they must match the ferocity displayed by the newly crowned champions at Hampden.
