Halting Celtic’s bid for the Treble would be like winning the trophy for Rangers I would start Kenny Miller. His experience could prove invaluable

AS Tom Rogic blazed his decisive spot-kick high over the Hampden crossbar in April 2016, a message seemed to accompany the wayward ball into the skies above Glasgow.

‘Rangers are back,’ was the loud claim emanating from the fans after their team’s dramatic Scottish Cup semi-final win on penalties over Ronny Deila’s Celtic.

But the exciting new chapter that seemingly lay in store for the promotion-bound Ibrox side soon gave way to the beginning of the end for manager Mark Warburton.

The following month, Rangers lost the Scottish Cup final 3-2 to Hibs and, to this day, the hunt goes on for the club’s first major silverware since 2011.

Just when the Ibrox side thought they might be closing the gap on their Old Firm rivals, Celtic went out and hired former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and completed an Invincible Treble, going an entire domestic season unbeaten. By contrast, a season that had started with bold boasts from Ibrox fans about ‘Going for 55’ titles ended with Warburton being sacked in February.

That semi-final two years ago this month remains the last time Rangers have beaten Celtic.

And when the teams face off again at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday, they are arguably even further apart than they were in 2016.

Rodgers and his side are on track to sweep the board again domestically, and are hoping to make it ten derbies without defeat this weekend.

Against that backdrop, David Weir insists that if Rangers win at Hampden to deny Celtic consecutive Trebles, it would be akin to lifting major silverware. Even if they ultimately fall short again in the final against Aberdeen or Motherwell.

‘Would stopping a double-Treble be like a trophy, regardless of what happens in the final? I think the politically-correct answer to that would be no — but, in reality, the answer would be yes,’ said former Ibrox defender Weir, who was Warburton’s assistant at Rangers and Nottingham Forest.

‘For Celtic to win back-to-back trebles and reach seven (titles) in a row, that really increases the pressure on Rangers in terms of historically what has happened in Scottish football.

‘Celtic will be desperate to get ten in a row. There’s no secret to that, and to get back-to-back trebles would also be an incredible achievement.

‘That would give Celtic the bragging rights they would deserve for that achievement. It just magnifies where Celtic are at this time.’

Weir (right) still has fond memories of that Scottish Cup epic two years ago.

After Kenny Miller fired in the opening goal, Celtic replied through an Erik Sviatchenko header.

Barrie McKay’s wonderful long-range strike had Rangers ahead in extra time before the ultimately luckless Rogic took the contest to penalties. ‘The game itself was exciting. But, being honest, Celtic should have won it,’ recalled Weir. ‘They had the better chances but things went our way, even the penalties. Rogic slipped at his penalty. It just seemed it was going to be our day. ‘We were in a good position because we were winning regularly in the Championship, the team was settled, and everyone knew their roles. ‘We were confident, even though Celtic were the better team with better players. We felt we had nothing to lose. We were not expected to win but we felt we had a chance. ‘I enjoyed it. The players executed the plan to the letter. It just felt like everything went our way. The biggest thing was that we beat Celtic. Rangers were on their way back. But ultimately it was to prove a bittersweet moment.

‘With hindsight, beating Celtic created a false sense of expectation,’ added Weir, who is looking to get back into coaching after leaving Forest with Warburton last December.

‘It probably heightened a lot of people’s expectations in terms of where Rangers were really at.

‘But Celtic reacted to that, too. I don’t know if it was necessarily just that day but Rangers were getting better. There’s no doubt about it, we were improving.

‘We were getting closer and Celtic probably weren’t as good as they are now. So, you could make an argument about there not being as big a gap then as there is now.

‘We were back in the Premiership and Celtic will have realised maybe the gap was closing a bit and they would not have taken that lightly.

‘They did react and they reacted very well. They went out and got a great manager.’

So what will it take for Rangers to repeat their 2016 Scottish Cup semi-final win over a highlyfancied Celtic in 2018? Weir advocates Graeme Murty rolling back the clock and going with 38-year-old Kenny Miller.

‘I would start Kenny,’ he said. ‘Not just due to his temperament, but because of his ability as well.

‘Kenny is getting on in years but his experience is incredible in terms of what these games involve and what’s needed at certain times on the pitch.

‘I think that’s invaluable and he can be a massive part of Rangers being successful in the game.

‘If Rangers are to win, I think they will need to perform well and they will need to take their chances when they come.

‘And, not unlike when we won the game in 2016, I think they will need a little bit of luck. We played really well — probably as well as we could have played on the day — but we still needed a bit of luck.’