Regret in the air but Rangers will be hailed by fans
On the evening when their status as champions is expected to come to an end, Rangers have the welcome distraction of turning their attention towards their pursuit of a piece of silverware which could burnish their credentials like none before.
There will still bean element of regret and disappointment in the air at Ibrox when Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad play their last home fixture of the season against Ross County.
Regardless of Rangers’ own result, the title race will be offically over if celtic avoid defeat against dundee united at tan na dice. The surrender of the six-point lead they held at the top of the Premiership table going into the winter break, turned on its head by their old Firm rivals who hold the same advantage going into the final two rounds of fixtures, can not be shrugged off lightly by van Bronckhorst and his players.
Yet they can still anticipate a rousing reception and sendoff from their home support tonight as the fevered anticipation of the Europa League final a gains te intracht frankfurt in Seville next week continues to intensify.
Van Bronckhorst’s team selection against Ross County – and for Saturday’s last league game against Hearts at Tynecastle – will be a reflection of his priorities as he prepares for a momentous climax to the campaign which sees that high profile assignment in Spain quickly followed by the Scottish Cup final showdown with Hearts at Hampden on May 21.
Just as he did for Sunday’s 2-0 win over Dundee United atibr ox, which forced celtic to wait just a little longer before they can formally reclaim the Premiership crown, van Bronckhorst is likely to rotate his squad as he tries to ensure all of his key players are in the best possible condition to face Eintracht.
Finding the right balance between resting players and maintaining their optimum levels of match sharpness can be tricky. As van Bronckhorst observed at the weekend, robust and reliable performers such as his captain James Tavernier and vice-captain Con nor gold son feel they benefit from playing every game of an intense schedule.
But the Rangers manager may be tempted to give Tavernier a night off on this occasion. With 19-year-old Adam Devine having made a solid first-team debut when he replaced the free-scoring right-back for the final half hour against United, a first start for the Scottish youth international could be on the cards against County.
Leon King, the highly regarded 18-year-old who made his first start and played the full game on Sunday, will be hoping to retain his place in central defence.
In midfield, Alex Lowry is likely to feature again at some stage after impressing when he replaced Scott Arfield against United, while van Bronckhorst may also want to get some more game time into the legs of Aaron Ramsey with the on-loan Juventus midfielder clearly possessing the quality and big occasion mentality to play a role in the Europa League final.
It remains to beseenw he therKe mar Roofe will be ready to make his return against County as the jamaican international striker continues his battle to recover from the knee injury which has seen him miss the last five games.
Van Bronckhorst’s biggest hope will be that there are no fresh additions to his absentee list.