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I repeat points win prizes and Celtic, under Lennon or anyone else have a squad capable of going on a long winning run against provincial opposition. If you add that to three points at Ibrox, it becomes ominous. Now is the time.....We really need to go out and look for the win that would put further daylight between us and them. I think they'll turn up (performance wise) on Saturday and that we'll need to be at our best. Can see both teams scoring more than one goal.

I watched BBC Scotland's Disclosure documentary on the Ibrox Disaster last evening, it was a hard watch. I think it was a fair representation of events, principally they utilised the memories of three Celtic supporters from Markinch, Fife. They grew up on the same streets as the five barely teenage lads that perished on stairway 13. Their supporters bus returned complete, whereas RSC bus returned minus those lads and others injured. The dichotomy was startling, but treated sensitively with compassion. I know we will want to discuss events 50 years past, but I ask respectively, we keep it off the BBC Scotland pages. Perhaps, after tomorrow afternoon's game at St Mirren, I will post my memories. My old man and I descended Stairway 13 five minutes before tragedy struck on the 2nd January'71.

I believe Dundee Utd have played Barcelona 4 times over 2 ties (60's and 90's) and won all four games. That must be some kind of record?

I note former English Premiership and Sellik supporting Referee, Dermot Gallagher has decreed the Hagi/Newell incident, no penalty. Further, given Newell's clutch of his face whilst throwing himself to the ground and clearly no contact, Gallagher suggests a caution to Newell. Again, the Bully Michael Stewart shouting, "that's a penalty all day' twice on Sportscene, needs to be readdressed.

Great Post! When I was a boy and just discovering football. Dundee United under McLean were at the height of their powers. They were a really good team. I still remember the night they beat Barcelona and the back to back cup finals when they lost to St. Mirren and Celtic. Back then they were genuinely a team I liked watching. Such a shame what Scottish football has become.

Perhaps I'm not a man of modern times but more often than not, struggle to see the Com part of the modern SitCom. I once heard Cosgrove say a programme called Two Doors Down was Scotlands best ever comedy. I hadn't seen it but made a point of looking it out and it reminded me of Off the Ball, in that every episode/programme is very, very similar. Cowan and Cosgrove explain the repetitiive conversations away as a feature, tropes of the show. Then BBC Scotland gave them an extra hour and a half after Saturday Sportsound to let them repeat the repetitions, this being to replace what was a much more interesting hour hosted by Kenny MacIntrye that often got into the nitty gritty of issues. In the week that Jim McLean passed on after suffering with dementia. Could BBC Scotland look to lessen the repetition and stimulate the mind? ps. I look forward to reading the scripts #"A Life of Slice"

Nowt much left to say about Jim McLean after what was an excellent read and tribute from JMc. I was based up in Arbroath for a few years in the 80's and along with some of the lads nipped down to Dundee to watch quite a few European ties that included some on the way to that European Cup semi-final. Great atmospheres and excellent football, a time when some provincial clubs could play a bit. Ferguson (Aberdeen) and McLean (Dundee Utd) demonstrated where exceptional management could take a football club. Their teams did more in Europe over several seasons than Rangers or Celtic did in two decades from 73 to 92. I'll certainly raise a glass to Jim McLean and what he brought to the party.

Over the last few years as part of the Founders Trail we've been searching the cemeteries of Glasgow and beyond for the final resting places of those men who played such a vital role in not only forming our Club but the subsequent years thereafter. Work has already been carried out on 60 plots. In 2017 we extended the project into assisting those bereaved by the 1961 and 1971 Ibrox Disasters,to date we’ve assisted 29 families. This has ranged from the placing of new gravestones,to repairing and cleaning damaged stones and the placing of memorial plaques. It’s important that this generation of Rangers supporters remember those who have gone before,the Restoration Project also lets the bereaved families know that they’ll never be forgotten. Those men from our early years gave us so much that we still enjoy today and it’s important that we give them and our fellow supporters back a bit of dignity and respect,no-one will be left to rest in an unmarked grave. The Restoration work has only been possible because of the generous donations we’ve received from the worldwide Rangers supporters and fund raising activities. Thank you. If you’d like to donate to the Restoration Project please use the link here on our website. Every penny helps. PAYPAL LINK. - https://www.paypal.com/sendmoney ***Follow the link and add following email address along with donation – sonsofstruth@aol.co.uk

Jim McLean - An Appreciation Our last match of the 1983/84 season took place on the 14th of May away at Tannadice. I remember very little about the match itself other than the facts that Rangers won and that there was a rousing rendition of ‘Rangers are back, Rangers are back’ from the away support situated under the old covered terrace along Sandeman Street. Season 83/84 was one of major change for Rangers. For only the 9th time in our history we changed managers when John Grieg, arguably our greatest ever captain, resigned following a run of poor results and vocal supporter unrest. Ironically we replaced the eighth manager in our history with the seventh, Jock Wallace. There were 14 days between Grieg resigning and Wallace being appointed, during those 2 weeks former Rangers player, supporter and Govan boy, Alex Ferguson, signed a new, improved contract with Aberdeen amid much speculation that he was top of Rangers wanted list and Dundee Utd manager, Jim McLean, travelled to Glasgow for an interview for the job, returning to Dundee and announcing he didn’t want it. It might seem strange to some that the death of a man who never played, coached or managed our club should warrant any comment in a Rangers supporter’s website, but for me Jim McLean actually had a profound and long lasting influence on Rangers, despite the lack of any formal attachment. The feeling of rejuvenation our supporter’s felt at Tannadice that May afternoon wasn’t a delusion. Following Wallace’s appointment in November Rangers only lost 2 matches for the rest of the season and won the League Cup, defeating Celtic in the final. Dundee Utd finished one place above us that season, so beating them in that final match felt significant, like laying down a marker for the following season. It wasn’t, but we didn’t know that at the time. The other aspect required to understand the context of that victory was just how good a side Dundee Utd were back then. Dundee United weren’t even the best team in their street before appointing Jim McLean as manager. People with greater insight than I will be able to explain how he transformed Tayside’s second team into Scottish Champions and a genuine force in Europe. Much will be written about his methods, his perpetual sense of injustice and his volcanic temper. What shouldn’t be overlooked though is the magnificence of some of those Utd sides. Dundee United had width and speed, they played fluid, attacking football and featured players you hated and coveted in equal measure. As surprising as it might seem now, visiting Tannadice in those days wasn’t an unpleasant experience either. I never felt the hostility that exists now. Perhaps their supporters, unaccustomed to success, were simply enjoying the ride. Perhaps back in the 1980s, during enormous social upheaval, we all realised we were more alike. Whatever the reasons it feels like a long time ago now. McLean was one of 3 brothers born and raised near Larkhall in Lanarkshire. It was a footballing family, his grandfather had played for Rangers, his father had played Junior and McLean and his two brothers, Tommy and Willie, all played and managed professionally. Tommy, the youngest brother, was the the best player, winning the league with Kilmarnock before joining Rangers and enjoying a long and distinguished career. When Jim McLean was interviewed for Rangers manager, his brother, Tommy, was the caretaker manager. Tommy McLean was assistant manager to Greig, and while not really in the running for the manager’s job at the time, his presence must have played a part in his brother’s thinking. Many theories exist as to why both McLean and Ferguson didn’t want the Rangers manager job, most of them are without substance. What can be said though is that Rangers were at a low ebb. Our scouting and player development was poor and the creativity our board showed in planning and building the Ibrox Stadium we recognise today was sadly absent when looking at football matters. It sounds arrogant, but the inability of a club like Rangers to attract the manager of Dundee Utd was a seismic blow to our standing. McLean, then in his mid-forties and at the height of his mercurial powers would have transformed Rangers, had he been allowed. At Utd he had complete control of the football side, it’s unlikely he’d have ever got that at Rangers. Ultimately his loyalty to Dundee Utd and his family, who were settled in the city, is admirable and should be recognised as such. McLean’s refusal led to the second Wallace era. It started well but ended badly. Wallace was unable to craft a side from the ingredients he inherited. Despite some success his tenure went the way of Grieg as crowds fell and mediocrity normalised. There had been a change in the Rangers boardroom too during this time and Wallace’s dismissal, whilst sad, was largely welcomed by the support. The imagination lacking in his appointment a few years before was very much present in the choosing of his successor; Graeme Souness. This is where Jim McLean’s influence on our club is most significantly felt. Souness was wise enough to know he needed someone beside him who understood Scottish domestic football intimately. He chose well, he chose Walter Smith, Jim McLean’s assistant, confidant and consigliere. It’s impossible to overstate the influence McLean had on Walter Smith. Smith was signed from Junior football for Utd by McLean’s predecessor, Jerry Kerr, but it was under McLean that he became a first team regular. Smith stayed there for 9 years, returning for a further 2 as a player following a couple of seasons at Dumbarton. On retirement from playing at the end of the 1970s McLean took Smith onto the coaching staff and he eventually became Dundee Utd’s assistant manager. Smith’s time as a coach coincided with Dundee Utd’s most successful spell. Winning the League Cup twice, reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup and of course winning the league itself. McLean and Smith achieved this with a side largely made up of home grown players and cast-offs. Perhaps the greatest tribute you can pay that United side is that during a period when Scotland were rich enough player-wise to overlook European Cup winning captains for caps, Dundee Utd supplied 5 players to our World Cup final squad for the Mexico finals in 1986, more than any other team. Rangers only supplied one player, two if you include Souness. Smith’s tenure at Rangers needs little embellishment from me here. His long time assistant, Archie Knox, was also a disciple of McLean having played under him in the 70s. I mean no disrespect to McLean’s memory when I point out that Dundee United’s decline as a force in football started after Smith left. There was a time in Scottish football, and it doesn’t feel all that long ago to me, when any one of five clubs could realistically expect to win the league and when an away win at Tannadice was something to be really savoured. Jim McLean belongs to Dundee United, and it’s their supporters who will feel his loss, but we shouldn’t overlook his influence on Rangers, both directly and indirectly. The last 30 years would have been very different without him. Sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jim McLean, a genuine football legend.

He did @MacK1950 but that doesn't fit the narrative so selective amnesia has been applied by Goodwin and the mhedia

Having watched the aforementioned BBC Disclosure documentary, I would have to agree it was a hard watch. Overall it was a fair representation of the facts. However, the last few minutes of the programme disappointed me (although I somewhat expected it) when the focus seemed to shift to the culpability of RFC to the tragic events of 1971, 1962 and before. In my view it left the viewer with the impression that Rangers were the only contributor in Scottish football ever to suffer crowd fatality and injury, and everyone else are blameless and above reproach. @Soulsonic5791 comment on "petty point scoring" has more than a ring of truth about it. Then again, maybe it is just my paranoia on most of PQ's journalistic offerings on RFC in the last 10 years or so.

Glad you enjoyed it, Tannochsidebear and thanks for pointing out where you disagree with me - more than fair comment and it gives me a chance to clarify on those two points. I'm not feeling Bassey is a bad player. Quite the opposite. I think he's a great player for his age (21 on Hogmanay!) - a really exciting prospect. I just feel that night in Paisley - after a couple of wee defensive switch-off moments at Falkirk in the previous round which couldn't distract from a great all-round performance but would've been punished by better opposition - confirmed he's still more in the "potential" bracket than a like-for-like swap for Borna. You're absolutely right, our League Cup exit was his only bad game and he's not the only one who was slightly off it that night. What I was trying to say is the bigger and harder the game* the more unfair it is to field the likes of young Calvin in a side with other changes to it. If he keeps developing he could easily end up being better than Barisic. He's just not there yet, for me anyway, (and it's no criticism to not be as good as a class act like Borna) but needs more matches where he's the only second-stringer on the pitch. He needs more careful nurturing. My general point is that Paisley - our first defeat of the season - didn't prove we suddenly have a bad squad. Rather it showed how that squad is best utilised. Like most people, as we got into December without a single defeat across three competitions (and all our pre-season friendlies), I was starting to believe we were a couple of signings away from having two completely different starting XIs, one as good as the other. I think that night told us we had some players who could be swapped with no drop in standard and some squad players who needed more time, more games and/or to be utilised more sparingly. Re SG chucking the League Cup I do say, at the start of the second last para, "Gerrard didn’t deliberately chuck the League Cup". But he probably felt he had no choice, the schedule being as intense as it is, and the league title being the priority, other than to field the slightly more experimental team he did in Paisley. Stevie G doesn't know how to chuck stuff - he knows you can't switch it on and off. It's all or nothing with him. But he also knows you'll end up winning nothing if you run your best players into the ground by the half-way point of the season. All I'm saying is he's been given more insight into what games afford him the chance to rest which players. I'm as sure as I've ever been that we're in the safest of managerial hands. Which, if you know my history on predictions, is just asking for trouble but - I cannae help it - Stevie G has us all believing. *While we've often found St Mirren away a bit of a struggle down the years, as a club, it's only recently been established that Jim Goodwin might seriously know what he's doing at this level, so I in no way blame anyone at Rangers for thinking this was a game in which we could rest a few first choice bodies.

My wee pal Joe Harry Bow certainly played his part ... ?

No offence was intended on my part and I wouldn’t want to needlessly impinge on the solemn nature of such a poignant anniversary. Although I don’t have any direct familial connection to the events of that fateful day, I do know someone who came perilously close to being involved in the carnage. For this reason, I try to keep abreast of any coverage that is given to the disaster despite finding it difficult to consume. The last thing that I would want to do is belittle people’s memories by inviting scrutiny of the BBC’s output on the subject (or any other media outlet’s reporting for that matter) for the sake of petty point scoring or dare I say it, a cheap laugh. I merely sought to point out that any interaction between the BBC and anyone directly connected to Rangers contained in the essay was conspicuous by its absence. If I’ve inadvertently been disrespectful through bringing this up on the thread, then please accept my apologies.

Atletico Madrid: Diego Costa ends contract early Last updated on2 hours ago2 hours ago.From the sectionEuropean Football Costa has scored two goals this season Spain striker Diego Costa is a free agent after Atletico Madrid agreed to end his contract early, paving the way for a possible Premier League return. The 32-year-old, whose deal was due to expire next summer, fell out of favour at the Spanish club. He has made only three appearances, all as a substitute, since mid-October. "The striker asked to leave the club for personal reasons a few days ago and on Tuesday signed the termination of his contract," said Atletico. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55476267 So: £20M + Diego Costa = Alfredo Morelos Seems fair to me.

Lenton/pinion ponts hope you all had a good time over xmas.?

Picking myself up after being laid prone by an errant plume from a living room cushion whilst availing myself of Dermot’s latest observations, I managed to steel myself sufficiently in order to read Andrew Picken’s accompanying essay to PQ’s documentary on the Ibrox Disaster hosted on the BBC News homepage. It seems from my cursory exposure to Picken’s treatment of the subject, by way of said essay, is that no Rangers FC employee or Rangers inclined supporter is afforded an input to the investigative discourse. Contrast this with the unquestionable humanity imbued with any mention of our separated brethren that transcends any tribal triviality. Did the televisual offering achieve a balanced view? I’m not sure that my blood pressure could take it were I to find out for myself. Of course, solidarity from the News and Current Affairs department can be counted upon; or am I reaching all too conveniently for a tin foil head covering? Mmmm.

A friend of mine attended a posh school for girls, in Glasgow, and some years ago we discussed the standard (ie the full horror) of our respective Dinner Schools. In her institution they often served an indeterminate cold cut, which the girls, she said, called "Pink Lint". I replied that we had a more robust name for the same, or very similar delicacy: "Knob Meat". It took a couple of seconds, during which her expression changed from puzzlement, to realisation, to laughter. She was convulsed for some time. I suspect that if only the girls had known (these were more innocent times) they would have staged a hunger strike. As to The Life of Slice, I have not, yet, considered casting. The #MeToo thing has hindered this, considerably. To the best of my knowledge (which in the subject of the Lorne sausage is very, very, far from unlimited) neither basil, nor any other herb, whatsoever, comes near the product, as such addition, even in the smidgeon, would be seen as impairing the flavour, and that irredeemably, no matter the amount of ketchup or brown sauce applied.

The return of Ryan Jack doesn't sound like being anytime soon. Zungu is very much going to have to play his part this season.

Toffees against City was called off because city had some players out with covid but the rules are if you have 14 players plus a goalie then it shall go ahead different rules for different clubs

Go for a treble Rangers to win Morelos first goal then he gets sent off

Back in the day in deepest, darkest Lanarkshire, there were moderately priced Butchers that eeked out their square sausage with gristle, fat, and floor sweepings. They were known as, 'Pink Lint Butchers'. Evolution stepped in, and some Butchers added red vegetable dye; these became known as, 'Rid Skwerr Butchers'. I suspect a 'Slice of Rid Skwerr Life' would set the palpitations going in the PQ Gang Hut? Anything square has Masonic connotations. Who would play Saint Basil?

He was offered a very handsome contract by Rangers

This is a difficult one. Currently there are 7 different players nominated. It shows as well how diverse our views become, in a hard fought 1-0 victory with a rather nail biting ending. I would support the view that Hagi & Aribo played well and accordingly have the majority vote. I can also subscribe to substitute Alfie getting a shout, because for the short time he was on his hold up play was excellent. However, my vote goes to a defender. I thought Balogun was really solid at the back and could have grabbed a goal (or two), so he gets my vote!

Fantastic obit John. Would loved to have seen that United side go up against Liverpool in the European Cup final in Rome in 1984. It's such a pity they were on the receiving end of scandalous ref decisions and match fixing (the Roma chief basically admitted it in 2018)

Do you think that BBC Scotland would be interested in my new sitcom "A Life of Slice", showcasing the everyday antics and happenings of the kenspeckle characters who work in the Lorne sausage factory?

In those days I had no dislike for Dundee United. McLean’s team had a perfect blend similar to that of their fellow citizens twenty years previously.

A brilliant obit mate. Many thanks for sharing.

Great post and I agree 100%. Did we ever find out why he turned down the chance to manage us , I think after Fergie was offered it?

Mrs Brown's Bhoys. As yet, I have not seen a second of the Pacific Quay produced 'Mrs Brown's Boys'. In new, modern Scotland, our public service broadcaster is determined to provide us with, "a slice of life". Particularly, a slice of Irish life. Mrs Brown's Boys has been around for quarter of a century, played regular three week spells in the Pavillion Theatre for a decade before PQ stepped in and decided Brendan O'Carroll's drag act was the very dab. In many ways, it's the perfect metaphor for BBC Scotland. A well honed production built most carefully on patronage. The vast majority of parts on and off screen are either O'Carroll or Gibney family members. Brendan is married to fellow show star, Jennifer Gibney. In the last two-three years, there has been unrest and law suits surrounding the show, emanating entirely from the minority(non family) members of the show. Recently, Scots Actor, Gary Hollywood best encapsulates this concern. He is suing O'Carroll on grounds of workplace discrimination and constructive dismissal. Gary does not have patronage protection and feels sliced out of Brendan's Florida based slice of life. Of course, as Rangers supporters we recognise Gary's dilemma. Let's say you are Michael Stewart and your job most weeks is to go on Sportscene/Sportsound and in the most unequivocating manner, state Rangers are the beneficiaries of Refereeing decisions. Sportscene has an Irish Producer and Sportsound's Editor is Claire Kelly(former Sellik Chair, Kevin Kelly's daughter); a proverbial ton of patronage back up. Michael is untouchable, already he has had several spills with Rangers and is allowed to carry on. Saturday Sportscene had him totally ignore the laws of the game and declare twice, "Hagi's high boot into the face of Joe Newell is a penalty all day". Rawking his big white sannies for confidence, he ignored a high boot in the box with no contact is an indirect free kick and talked over Neil McCann's opposing view. Further, imbued with patronage, he ignored Newell's deliberate simulation, going down holding his face whilst Hagi's boot is at least a foot away from contact. Even when Michael assumes his natural inclination as a Bully, ie makes a complete cnut of it, he can rely on other patronage recipients to ride to the rescue. Former Sellik View cub reporter, Alison McConnell is in today's Herald interviewing Newell, and Joe is harbouring a sense of injustice. Is there an old firm game this week? I have asked and asked again, but I do not think we will get an answer as to why Michael left Sellik TV after a dozen weeks. Surely, the natural conclusion to all this patronage? I suspect Michael has higher ambitions. Why should Michael appeal for action against Rangers from the Compliance Officer, when he could just get on with the process of draconian punishment, if he was appointed(anointed) Compliance Officer. All four previous Compliance Officers have been Sellik season ticket holders, surely Peter's patronage can swing it for Michael on the basis of three months on Sellik TV? Gone yourself Michael, get over to Florida and have a word with Brendan on how to stitch it up completely. Bring us back a slice of life.

first class read

Must dash but will read later....... Wonder if FatEck thinks Haribo will be a matchwinner today ?

Why was I eating an entire quarter of watermelon at midnight on Monday? Because it was either that or it went in the bin. Why, rather than salad and veg, does my crisper currently contain a family sized strawberry trifle, a bottle of Pinot, some runny cheese and a box of After Eights? Because there’s only so much fridge space and there’s only so much shopping time. Multiply by projected increases in appetite, subtract your sell-by dates and filling your face at Christmas is a tactical nightmare. Forget Covid. Ignore Brexit. Pay no heed to whether they’re closing borders at Carlisle or Dover or in what month they’ll be injecting vaccines in yer arse or yer elbow. Right now you need to focus because every December of your adult life has been about averting the same potential crisis: Christmas means many hours when the shops are shut and entire days you won’t want to leave the sofa, far less hit Tesco. It’s not just about having the resources to properly celebrate – it’s about how you prioritise and deploy those resources. Many of us have discovered this truth during a December trip to Braehead Shopping & Leisure Centre, equidistant from Ibrox and Paisley. Steven Gerrard discovered it this December, at the hands of a team once sponsored by Braehead Shopping & Leisure Centre. Too many of his goodies sat unused for too long. Treats were spoiled. Festivities were ruined. When our centre-half waltzed in a seventh minute opener, on the back of a 27-game unbeaten run, St Mirren FC looked like being reduced to another statistic under the steamroller that is Rangers 2020-21. We weren’t just going to win this League Cup, we were going to turn it into the kind of extended lap of honour needed by a club who hasn’t won a major trophy in a decade. Turned out even a last-minute Rangers equaliser, and me shouting “Finish them, Teds!” (quite forcefully), couldn’t stop St Mirren eliminating us without the need for extra time. The knee-jerk conclusion was we’d got too cocky. The suspicion was that a decade without one had let Rangers forget the focus required to win a major trophy. The actual truth was we’d learned a hard lesson about deployment. Bonagni Zungu shouldn’t have started against St Mirren. Not alongside Arfield and Aribo anyway. And the failure to get Borna Barisic on at half-time in Paisley – not because Calvin Bassey was completely failing to defend but because his inability to get the ball forward was dragging Ryan Kent to places he wasn’t wanted – was the moment Stevie G demonstrated, consciously or otherwise, the league was his priority. St Mirren’s outside-right Connolly, fouled by Calvin for their first-half penalty equaliser after a Kent mistake, again dangerously outsmarted our understudy left-back in the opening minutes of the second half. Borna was asked to warm up. Connolly got another cross past Calvin - it came off the bar. Borna was stripped and stood on the side-line, Jimmy Bell giving the details to the fourth official. Before Borna got on, Calvin was done by Connolly yet again and it resulted in St Mirren taking the lead. We never properly recovered from that 53rd minute goal. But in the subsequent two league matches we’ve more than recovered from that League Cup exit. And I suspect Steven Gerrard needed that defeat to discover exactly which players he could use and when if he wants to lay on the far greater festivities concomitant with our first league title in a decade. With injury the only thing to have stopped Itten and Roofe so far, with Jermain Defoe still able to finish like a master craftsman and Ryan Kent an incessant menace, the Rangers forwards fridge looks deliciously well stocked. Yes, we’ve complained about Alfredo not scoring many this year. But he’s so heavily involved in killer build-ups he doesn’t have to - not when our centre-half and right back are goal machines. We have Aribo, Hagi and even speed-meister Brandon Barker, all ready to replace or compliment the revitalised Scott Arfield in weaponising the Jack-Davis-Kamara midfield base. One day Connor Goldson might let Helander and Balogun be the centre-half pairing rather than his reliable but interchangeable partners. We have the best goalkeeper in Scotland - and the second-best too. So in our unbeaten, mostly winning, start to the season – from 1st August to mid-December - we’ve all enjoyed telling ourselves that, with the possible exception of James Tavernier, Rangers now have two players for every position. But we don’t. Not really. Calvin can come on for Borna in Liege and maintain the pace because, (a) Borna has already set the pace and (b), the other ten Calvin is joining are first-picks and/or hugely experienced. Zungu can chew up the scenery for a half against Hamilton and when starting versus Falkirk. But when we’re playing top flight sides, until he’s fully bedded-in, Bongani can only come on after two of Jack, Davis or Kamara have established the tone alongside Arfield or Aribo. And we all suspect neither Balogun nor Helander would be half as good without Goldson. Some positions have more options than others. Some players are still more vital than others. But Steven Gerrard knows his best starting XI. All he discovered in Paisley is how far he could dilute it and when. Now we've all consumed our hearty Christmas dinners and the team hits this ridiculously intense festive period of fixtures, us punters also need to get brutally pragmatic. This is the best season to exit the League Cup early. In historical terms, the Scottish Cup is the only domestic competition in which we trail Celtic. We’ve won 27 League Cups and the nearest challenger, with 19, went out the round before us this season. In the more recent context of “the journey back”, the time for being satisfied with a League Cup is long gone. During Mark Warbuton’s reign? Yes, it would have meant the world. In our second season back in the top flight, it would’ve been great. But by the time Steven Gerrard arrived at Ibrox, a League Cup was only of use as a marker of progress – confidence booster for us, treble-buster for Celtic. And even that ship sailed last December when a Hampden linesman gave his flag arm a rest and Tav gave that penalty to Alfie. With Covid rescheduling the current season in much the same way an accordionist reschedules his bellows, winning at St Mirren last week would have meant a January semi and probably a February final: Two massive games – both carrying the possibility of extra time, penalties and general fatigue - at the very point we’ve collapsed in the past two seasons, and at the time we’ll be entering two rounds of the Scottish Cup and two massive games versus Royal Antwerp. Had we been trailing in the Premiership last Wednesday, then fine. Had we won last season’s League Cup, meaning two no-win games at Hampden would now have no psychological drag, perfect. But, frankly, our league form in the first half of the season has made finishing this campaign with just one, even both cups in the bag, the stuff of failure. It’s 55 or bust now. And a team with no top tier titles in ten years needs to focus harder than a recent champ. Our next treble can wait, because we won’t achieve it until we get used to winning leagues again. At the outset of this season there was still some room for improvement under Gerrard, for tacit success, without us necessarily winning the title. That angle disappeared when we won at Tannadice. Having also come away from Easter Road, Parkhead, Rugby Park and Pittodrie comparatively unmolested, we’d proved we had what league titles take. And since cruising to victory at McDiarmid – something we don’t always do - we’re halfway through our league campaign with four points dropped. We’ve won 53 points from a possible 57. Had Celtic kept pace, had they been the team to take points from us then, again, we could have contented ourselves with a cup or two and more season-on-season improvement. But our only serious challengers have fallen so far behind the psychological and financial damage we’d suffer by not winning this title could be catastrophic. The thought of our miraculous, even-more-spectacularly-improving European form of the last three seasons putting Celtic rather than ourselves straight into the Champions League group stages is unbearable. It’s all gone too far. We’re too good. We have to win this league now. They’re currently telling themselves they trail by just seven points. But we all know that, should Celtic start clawing us back, they’ll want the world to know we were 16 points in front. With the festive week bringing Hibs, a return to Paisley, and Celtic themselves, retaining our focus and intensity is paramount. The Scottish Cup and Europe will provide distraction enough in the next two months. Depending on how draws and first legs go, they could also provide the first games of 2021, and the first this season since Falkirk, where we can afford to rest most key players. Celtic, on the other hand, now have nothing better to do than trying to stop us winning the league. Gerrard didn’t deliberately chuck the League Cup. But he knew how packed the fridge was for the rest of the month. He prioritised ruthlessly. He deployed accordingly. Cups can wait. Zungu came on when we went 2-1 up versus Motherwell on Saturday and killed it. Bassey’s development continues. Barker and Defoe will be needed yet. Jordan Jones and George Edmundson can come on against Edinburgh City or Spartans in the Scottish. Maybe Steven Gerrard, who only failed to win the league at Liverpool, will make that the only thing he wins at Rangers. And that particular deployment, of silverware, would be just fine by me. Across the festive period I have no time to shop for extras and little taste for the watermelon that’s oh so healthy for my body. It’s all about the turkey, trimmings, pudding and booze that’s absolutely vital to my soul. And this season is now about winning the one prize the soul of our club demands above all others.