Rangers

Sportscene's Steven Thompson, James McFadden and Neil McCann preview Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final between Celtic and holders Rangers.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement says Celtic "have been better than last season" so his side "need to be better also" in Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final. (Sun), external

Ibrox forward Hamza Igamane, 22, reminds Rangers team-mate Leon Balogun, 36, of former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba. (Record), external

Read Sunday's Scottish gossip

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Rangers defender Leon Balogun has compared teammate Hamza Igamane to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.

Igamane, 22, has four goals in four Europa League outings and six goals in total since joining the Ibrox club from FAR Rabat in the summer.

The latest of those came against Tottenham in Thursday's 1-1 draw, and Balogun praised the Moroccan striker's impact before Sunday's League Cup final against Celtic.

"I think it's really good to see that he's able to put things that we see in training on to the big stage when it matters," Balogun said.

"And I think he's had an excellent run.

"He's a strong player and the way he controls the ball with his chest, I don't think I've seen it a lot.

"I don't want to praise him too much, but it reminds me a little bit of Didier Drogba, but that's a big one, so don't tell him I said that.

"It's very refreshing. It's very nice to see it. And yeah, he's delightful.

"He's got a bit of cheek to him as well. He loves a nutmeg

"But, yeah, he's been really, really good. I think the his performances speak for itself."

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• Current holders Rangers have won the League Cup a record 28 times; Celtic are the next most successful with 21 wins.

• This weekend will be the 17th Old Firm final in the League Cup. Rangers edge the head-to-head with nine wins to Celtic's seven, although the Parkhead side triumphed 2-1 in the most recent meeting (2022-23).

• Celtic have beaten Hibs, Falkirk and Aberdeen on their route to this season's final, scoring 14 goals and conceding three.

• Rangers have netted seven goals and conceded one on their path to the final, defeating St Johnstone, Dundee and Motherwell.

• Daizen Maeda (five goals) is Celtic's top scorer in the competition this season; Cyriel Dessers tops the Rangers goal charts with four.

Rangers will switch kit suppliers from Castore to Umbro at the end of the season. (Footy Headlines), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

Philippe Clement insists his winless record against Celtic is not on his mind as he urged Rangers to deliver a "very mature" performance to defy the odds and retain the League Cup on Sunday.

The Ibrox boss has failed to beat Brendan Rodgers' side in five attempts, losing four.

Clement said: "I'm not busy with that. For me, to be a successful Rangers manager will be that the club is successful and the squad is successful, so you need to win this game.

"But it's not about me. It's not my personal goal or anything. I don't win the game. I'm not on the pitch. I can guide them to what to do on the pitch. That's my job.

"I feel zero percent on this.It's never been about me in this job. Winning trophies 200%. About winning games 200%. So that's what I want against every opponent, to do everything to win games and to do that together with the squad."

On what will be key to a Rangers victory, Clement added: "To score, to be efficient, to defend really well.

"Celtic is a team who's really good on the ball with a lot of quality. We know they showed in the league, they showed in Europe, so we need to play a very mature game, well organised, but we need to play our football also and and create our chances like we have been doing the last couple of weeks.

"That's crucial, in top games you don't get 20 good chances. You need to grab your moment."

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Rangers manager Philippe Clement has been speaking to the media before the League Cup final against Celtic this weekend.

Here are the main points:

• Clement doesn't yet know if John Souttar will be fit - he's not had a "full assessment" of the issue after the defender went off injured in the first half of Thursday night's draw with Spurs.

• On trying to reverse their recent Old Firm fortunes, Clement says the key is to be efficient, defend well, play with maturity and be organised. He also says the players will need to grab their chances in front of goal.

• Rangers have yet to beat Celtic under Clement but the Belgian says he feels "under zero pressure" to change that on Sunday. He insists it's not about him and says he is "200%" focused on winning games and winning trophies.

• The players will have to cope well with the emotions of the tie - "there will be mind games" and the players will "need to handle that well".

• The performance against Spurs doesn't give him added confidence because "the belief is there before a match and that's why you can play like that".

• Clement puts Thursday's performance down to "an energic squad" and adds that his "young squad" while still learning about certain aspects of the game, are "dynamic" and "tactically getting better".

• On Celtic having extra days to recover, Clement says: "I'm not busy with that. I'm just focused on ourselves. But having played Thursday/Sunday for much of the season is a help. Your body adapts to that."

Jack Butland says the Rangers dressing room was filled with both disappointment and pride after their 1-1 Europa League draw against Tottenham on Thursday.

Hamza Igamane opened the scoring just 81 seconds into the second half, but Dejan Kulusevski earned Spurs a point at Ibrox.

Philippe Clement's side now go into Sunday's League Cup final against Celtic unbeaten in nine, and are well placed to progress to the knockout stages in Europe.

"We felt that we deserved to win the game and one moment sort of took that away from us," Butland said.

"So it's a testament to how well the boys played, that we're a little bit disappointed at the same time as being really proud of what we did.

"When we play as a collective unit like that, we can cause any team problems and we showed that. So really proud of that. It's been coming, too long coming, but we're getting there.

"We're building some momentum and it's important that we continue that on Sunday. We have to and that's all that matters now."

Butland believes doing the simple things well has been central to Rangers' recent good form as they navigate the busy festive period.

"Winning is a habit and if you don't do smaller things right that can lead into doing bigger things wrong and ultimately results not going your way," the England international continued.

"So we've really sort of focused on getting some basics right, that perhaps we lost at times and that's just allowed us to be to be solid, clean sheets and picking up results, and that's given us the opportunity to do that a bit momentum."

Former Ibrox forward Ross McCormack says there are now "more questions" over how Sunday's League Cup final against Celtic will go after Rangers continued their recent improvement with a rousing performance against Tottenham in the Europa League.

For more cup final build-up, listen to the BBC's Scottish football podcast.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Nicolas Raskin says Rangers must hit the same heights they have been reaching in Europe if they are to beat Celtic in the League Cup final.

The Belgian midfielder was one of the standout performers as Rangers delivered an impressive display in a 1-1 Europa League draw with Tottenham at Ibrox.

The point edged Rangers closer to the knockout stages and sets them up for a showdown with their biggest rivals at Hampden on Sunday.

"We need a good performance," Raskin said. "We just need to repeat the kind of performance we've been doing in Europe because it's that type of game.

"So just go, play the same way we've been playing [against Tottenham], we've been playing Nice, Olympiakos, and then go win. We just need to win.

"It's not going to be the midfield or offensive, it's just the whole team needs to go, stick together with the fans pushing and go for the win."

Captain James Taverier, who provided the cross for Hamza Igamane's opener, revelled in another "special" European night at Ibrox.

"There's been small tweaks to the formation over the last few weeks and a lot of the lads are in form," Tavernier said. "We know it's important we keep the consistency.

"We've gone in there disappointed we didn't come away with the three points.

"We're going to create chances [on Sunday], it's just about being clinical in the final third."

We asked for your views on Rangers' 1-1 draw against Tottenham in the Europa League.

Here's what some of you said:

Douglas: Great performance at last. Maybe now those supporters will stop harping on about getting rid of Philippe Clement, appreciate the work that the manager is doing with the extremely limited budget and stop this nonsense about the likes of Derek McInnes coming in to replace Clement.

Matthew: We were brilliant! Made Spurs look like a Sunday League team at times. Our intensity, mentality and gameplan were all excellent - no fear shown, quite rightly. The promise this team is showing is great: Nicolas Raskin was once again a standout. Hamza Igamane is proving to be invaluable, Cyriel Dessers was his usual frustrating self, but James Tavernier was back to his best, with an outstanding assist.

Jack: The performance echoed the one vs Leipzig in 2022. Raskin put in the best midfield performance for Rangers since Barry Ferguson. Tottenham were totally bewildered by the passion and adrenaline-fuelled Rangers team which came from our fans - who will always back the team no matter what! We deserved a win, Celtic beware!

Brian: A big hand clap from me, from the goalkeeper to our forward man, that performance was like watching a Rangers team from past years. A strong, disciplined, determined display and a team playing for each other. Well done, a great result. Up and onwards now.

Ronnie: A point seems hardly enough for that performance but no complaints from this ecstatic Bear. Our best performance since our charge to Seville. Not a single failure. I even forgive Dessers for his miss. We got 100% from every player, they were brilliant. Now let's see us repeat this on Sunday. Suddenly we are a team again.

William: I would have taken a draw before kick-off, but after watching the match we deserved three points. Spurs thought we would roll over. To a man every Rangers player was magnificent on the night. Hopefully they can take that into Sunday's final.

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Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson

"Rangers really unsettled Tottenham. Nicolas Raskin and Mohammed Diomande in the middle were excellent.

"There wasn't a fault in that team from a Rangers point of view. A brilliant result and a brilliant performance."

Former Rangers forward Ross McCormack

"Spurs, for whatever reason, weren't at it. I'm going to put it down to Rangers' good play because I think Rangers' set-up was pretty close to perfect.

"They came out the traps and pressured Spurs. I actually thought it was Rangers who would go on to win the game.

"It's great for Scottish football as well, because a lot of people down south turn their nose up at the Scottish game. Well, that shows them."

Ex-Ibrox winger Neil McCann

"Rangers thoroughly deserved to win the game, I think 1-1 flatters Spurs. Rangers really shocked this team, they really surprised them with everything."

Former Scotland forward James McFadden

"Most people expected Spurs to come here and do a number on Rangers, but credit to the home side, they have stood up to that.

"Philippe Clement has been under immense pressure in recent times, but this performance shows his team is heading in the right direction."

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• James Tavernier has been directly involved in 16 Europa League goals (10 goals, 6 assists). The only Englishman with more goal involvements is Marcus Rashford (18), and the only one with more such assists is Bukayo Saka (8).

• Tottenham remain unbeaten in seven meetings with Scottish sides (W4 D3).

• Rangers are winless in seven meetings with English clubs (D2 L5) since a 2-1 win at Leeds United in 1992.

• Ange Postecoglou has won just one of his five games at Ibrox (D2 L2).

• Tottenham have won just one of their last eight games in all competitions (D3 L4), and are winless in their last five (D3 L2).

• Hamza Igamane has scored four goals in his four Europa League appearances. The Moroccan has five in his last five games for Rangers in all competitions.

• Tavernier made his 53rd appearance in the Europa League – the joint most of any English player in the competition alongside Steve Perryman.

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Karim Virani is reportedly leaving his role as Rangers chief commercial officer, the latest in a series of boardroom departures. (Sun), external

Ex-Tottenham forward Peter Crouch says Spurs "got away with one" in their 1-1 draw with "fantastic" Rangers. (Record), external

Former Ibrox and Tottenham player Alan Hutton jumped up and down celebrating when Rangers went 1-0 up, which did not go down well with Spurs fans. (Sun), external

Rangers manager Philippe Clement reveals Rangers have been "giving cooking lessons" to his players as they seek to "get all the details right". (National), external

Meanwhile, Rangers face a sweat of scorer Hamza Igamane and defender John Souttar's fitness for Sunday's Scottish League Cup final against Celtic after both went off injured against Tottenham. (Glasgow Times), external

Nicolas Raskin praises Rangers' unity against Tottenham and says of Sunday's Scottish League Cup final against Celtic: "It's not about the midfield or the defence - it's about the whole team." (Record), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur both moved a step closer to the Europa League knockout stages after they played out a captivating draw at Ibrox.

Hamza Igamane gave the hosts the lead just 81 seconds into the second half with a fine finish from James Tavernier's cross, before Dejan Kulusevski equalised for Tottenham with a low left-footed drive after a superb team move.

Both sides had chances to win a gripping contest on Glasgow's southside - none more so than when Cyriel Dessers was denied by Fraser Forster late on - but some last-ditch defending and sharp goalkeeping kept it at 1-1.

The result takes both sides to 11 points, with Rangers eighth and Tottenham ninth in the table, as they fight for an automatic place in the competition's last 16.

Rangers fans we want to know what you made of the side's performance. Have your say here., external

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Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "I'm very proud about the performance because it's the way we want to see football being played.

"Also if you see where this group of players is coming from, from a few months ago and making performances like this now, it is a big, big step forward.

"On the other side, I'm also disappointed we didn't take the three points. That would have been even better and would have been the result we deserved today with the performance the players gave."

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou: "A tough game as expected, obviously with the atmosphere in the stadium. I thought the first half was pretty tight with no clear-cut for either side.

"When they score straight after half-time the energy levels obviously go up and it's going to be a tough one to claw back, but I thought we worked our way back in well.

"I thought the substitutes made a difference and we scored a good goal, had other good moments and a great save by Fraser [Forster] at the end.

"In the context of where we are in Europe, an important point."

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Hamza Igamane got the opening goal for Rangers and it was a cracking finish, he made a great run in the build-up as well. The striker is certainly growing in confidence in a Rangers shirt.

George O'Neill
BBC Sport Scotland

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Rangers were not fazed by the visit of Premier League opposition, nor the return of an old foe in Ange Postecoglou.

They have delivered their best performances this season in Europe, and they took the game to Tottenham, with a raucous home crowd behind them.

Philippe Clement's side played with tempo and bite in the opening stages, and Forster was called into action to tip over Nedim Bajrami's powerful effort.

Vaclav Cerny was heavily involved throughout the first half, getting into the opposition box and shooting whenever the opportunity arose.

Rangers were slightly unfortunate to not lead at half-time, but they started the second period in stunning fashion.

James Tavernier whipped a delightful ball in behind the Tottenham defence and into Hamza Igamane's path, and the Moroccan striker calmly stroked in a first-time finish.

Rangers continued to look dangerous on the break, with Cerny and Mohamed Diomande both going close.

However, they could not find a second and Dejan Kulusevski's strike brought the home support back down to earth.

There was still a glorious chance for Cyriel Dessers to win it late on, but Forster denied the substitute after he had left two defenders for dead.

Clement will be frustrated by the result, but will take huge heart from the performance before they take on rivals Celtic at Hampden.

He could well be without centre-back John Souttar though, who came off in the first half with an apparent groin injury.