Tavernier targets Rangers hat- trick and history with cup
Ibrox captain out to collect only domestic medal missing from his cabinet after years of knock- out woe
JAMES TAVERNIER has one final box to tick, one last wait to end and medal to collect. The League Cup will complete the set. It could, and should, have been done and won before now. The final defeat to Celtic under Steven Gerrard is the closest that Rangers have come, while semi- final shocks against Aberdeen and Hibernian were almost as tough to take.
Come Sunday afternoon, Aberdeen will stand in their way once again. An Old Firm final looks to be on the cards and there would be a certain sense of it being written in the stars should Celtic be in the opposite end of Hampden on February 26.
It was Neil Lennon’s side who Rangers overcame to lift the silverware 12 years ago as goals from Steven Davis and Nikica Jelavic took the trophy back to Ibrox. It has not resided there since and a 28th triumph in the competition is now too long overdue.
Tavernier has had his fair share of attempts at rewriting the history books and twice been successful. He ended the decade- long wait for title 55 two years ago and then became the first Rangers captain since David Weir in 2009 to hold aloft the Scottish Cup last term.
He is now two fixtures away from the hat- trick. The achievement would be significant in its own right, but it would also be a statement of intent for Michael Beale as he seeks to follow the examples of Steven Gerrard and Giovanni van Bronckhorst and make his first impression on the Rangers roll of honour.
Given the circumstances that Rangers find themselves in at the top of the Premiership, it is fair to say that the knock- out competitions provide them with their best chances of silverware this season. All three will be fought for, but their fate in one will be determined sooner rather than later.
“I think with it being such an early competition that you can win, if you can add that to your trophy cabinet then it can give you good momentum for the rest of the campaign,” Tavernier said.
“That’s something we’ve obviously got our sights on, but we’ve got to get past Aberdeen this weekend and it will be a tough game. We’ve been in good form and as a team we’re getting better all the time. Everyone is at it and at the weekend hopefully we can put in a good performance and make it to another final.
“We’re in it for all three cups and we’ll keep fighting until the last game of the season. The cups are knock- out games and we set our sights at the start of the season – we want to win trophies.
“This is the first one we can get our hands on and we want to bring it back to Rangers and make the fans happy.
“It’s been a while since the club last won this competition, that was the same last season when we won the Scottish Cup.
“It had been a while. For the boys who have been here for a long time it’s a trophy we really want to get our hands on.”
Hampden has been the stage for some of the most euphoric highs and crushing lows of Tavernier’s career. He has packed plenty into his time at Rangers but still has ambitions to achieve and medals to win, both this season and in the coming years.
The win over Hearts in May came just days after the heartbreak of Seville and Rangers return to the national stadium with different questions to answer as Beale seeks to continue the rebuild following his appointment as Van Bronckhorst’s successor.
“The run in the Scottish Cup last season was really good,” Tavernier said. “We had to play the final on the back of that European game and we had to put a lot of minutes into those games.
“The character of the team was there for all to see and we’ve shown good character again this season since the new manager has come in. We just need to show that consistency and that level of performance for a longer period.
“We are getting better. I can feel that in training and in games. The big performances are coming.”
Beale had a hand in Rangers
reaching this stage of the competition last season but was watching on from afar by the time Hibernian inflicted an embarrassing 3- 1 defeat on the side that was guided by David McCallum.
The performance that day, as Tavernier admitted, wasn’t good enough but there was – like when he addressed the loss to Aberdeen two years previously – a desire to focus on the possibilities in the future rather than the disappointments of the past.
Beale is now leading that process in his own right. Five wins from six matches has been an encouraging start but there is still plenty of room for improvement as Rangers transition from the Van Bronckhorst era.
“It’s a different style of play,” Tavernier said. “The confidence is really in the team – the belief of knowing that we’re doing the right thing.
“There are parts we need to improve and it’s about identifying that. We’re learning and we’re getting better.
“For me the biggest change has been the freedom. He took the handbrake off and told us to just go.
“That’s music to my ears. It’s given me that freedom and knowing I can give everything for the team. I have the freedom going forward.
“Obviously there have been some little changes he’s made but it feels quite the same.”
James Tavernier was promoting Viaplay’s exclusively live coverage of the Viaplay Cup match Rangers v Aberdeen on Sunday at 15.00. Viaplay is available to stream from viaplay. com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add- on subscription.