Rangers vs Celtic Scottish Cup Final LIVE build-up

Join Derek Clark and Stevie Clifford ahead of today’s Scottish Cup Final, live from Hampden.

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good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Rangers review it’s press going to say press conference it’s team news reaction time me and Stevie are in the bills of hamen we’re in The Press Room uh we’ve just had a lovely helping of chicken and potatoes and the Rangers team has just dropped and uh we’re going to bring it up shortly uh I’ve not done my homework I’ve not brought it up on the screen just yet but I’ll do it uh just in this very second there we go uh this is how rangers are going to line up this afternoon folks against Celtic at hamen in the Scottish Cup Final Rangers lining up with butland and goal back four of Taver balagan Davis red van makes the game which is headline news Rasin and diamandi in the middle kwell Sterling and Silva supporting serial desas up top on the bench for Rangers mccu lrom Jack matondo SEMA D Wright mland and McKinnon Stevie your initial reaction to that starting 11 good afternoon everyone um first of all I’m relieved it wasn’t the 11 that you selected this morning on on social medias mate so I think anyone had seen that would have panicked a we bit but I suppose drinking at that time in the morning is is really good fun sobering up now but um yeah listen I I like it I like it considering all the injuries Derek and everything that could have could have happened I really like it and it’s probably about as good as it gets I think H I’m really positive red has made it that’s a big one and bagan’s made it as well so these are huge we need a big performance and then it’s a Midfield we all ask for how many times have we said give us the energy of Rasin diamandi Sterling cwell give us that youthful legs give us that in there we’ve got it Silva on the left has played well recently whether we like it or not right I know he’s not a favorite I think that’s quite clear but he’s played quite well I think Silva might have an impact today and then big Des up front you know at no point at no doubt at some point during the day he’ll take on about eight players and then try and score so um yeah I am I’m positive I think that is genuinely about his best as I could so if you’d ask me all week Derek where are we going to do this and you know and are we positive I probably said not a chance but I just have a feeling today that maybe something might happen so let’s go out and at least give it our best shot yeah uh before we get stuck in into the team few comments coming in of course there was a big event taking place at I Brooks earlier on this afternoon uh the Walter Smith statue unveiling which was uh a fantastic occasion to be a part of h a few comments coming in just off the back of it we live streamed it of course Timothy sharp says watch the official Rangers Walter tribute video brought tears to my eyes what a legend mean that some of that Spirit today and H blue noose John who’s tuning in from Germany says I had tears in my eyes at that statue unveiling uh yeah quite magnificent Bron statue of uh Walter and uh great atmosphere at I Brooks at the ground a little earlier on and the fans cheered the team as they left the stadium to make their way to a hden but uh you’ve seen the statue Stevie big fan absolutely I think it’s a wonderful job and we’ve had to wait a while for it I think the most important thing was that it was as good as we probably could have made it and I think it is D I think it’s a wonderful tribute to somebody that was without doubt a magnificent man in our history so let’s go and do this today for wal it would be wonderful to get a picture of this squad outside that statue later on tonight yeah and I think that that would be where I am with it um wer was the nicest guy to meet to speak to he a very dry sense of humor and he was a magnificent leader for Rangers and and the thing is as well that if he had been the manager today it’s like having an extra man on that pitch the way he used to set them up but lost count amount of times he used to watch Walter teams win one you know so yeah um yeah it’ be a wonderful thing today if we could if we could H do this for for on the day that we unveil statue so let’s hope the players can get a we bit of inspiration from yeah when left ALB in car park after the statue unveiling me past bmer Gordon jury and Willie Henderson H so what would how would love players of that caliber in that Rangers team today but let’s talk about the team that will take on Celtic this afternoon uh the big news is obviously Red fan we touched on Stevie Leon balagan coming back is big for me we’ve seen Leon King playing the last couple of games of course balagan the manager did say prior to the game that H he will be uh giving players up until today to prove their Fitness and uh balagan has made it which I think is big news him in the backline is or not it’s huge news and what is interesting is Derek on the bench there’s no Defenders so we know that Cole McKinnon can maybe play it right back but there’s no Center HS there so Bagan and Davis are going to have to play this game unless you’ve I don’t even want to say it out loud conern Ste was about to say like people are start booing me when I say this but John lrom is probably the only one that can sit at Center back so you know there is there is you would think that if alagan made I think if B’s made it he’s made it because he’s going to play that 90 Stalin’s had injuries as well can he play the 0 there’s so many question mark so I think that balagan be back is huge I’m really pleased that he’s in there and um you know Davis next to him Davis I’m not huge fan of no I’ve had kind of issues and concerns I wanted them out quicker try and block that what he’s capable of Performing so maybe we can get that today but as I said you that that back four you know super Jack is always going to play anyway but um I think that’s probably as best as we can get and the Midfield is what I’ve been crying out for so I’ve asked for it I’ve got it and I think I think that M feels exciting so let’s see yeah stay with the back line I get absolute ptos from my predicted team this morning chuckling away there but a concern in mind I said it during the week is James Taver he’s not in formed at this moment in time I’d imagine Celtic will look to exploit uh not just uh the right hand flank right hand flank but the down the left as well but more so he’s had a t time up against daan MAA in Old firm games before Stevie how do rangers nullify that threat and how we need James Tav to really up today doing not yeah I would think that it’s a big role for duon Sterling as well he’s obvious got to get back in there and cover him yes and I think there’ll be a lot of work for du he might even sacrifice going forward as much as kind of covering Rasin obviously sitting as well big job for KW then to go and push and and make sure that the the the the gap between the middle and the forwards doesn’t become massive can’t Well’s got to make sure that happens and I think that you know balagan he’s got a we bit of pace in there bagan’s not massively PC but he’s he’s got enough there that he can get out there and help as well so you know you might find it to have ear in Sterling kind of dub tail and swap about a we so that’s that is a huge concern but listen James havav is capable right he’s absolutely capable but what we need from James Taver is not to wait for a setback before he turns up yeah you know I mean he’s guilty too many times of getting something happening to him and then you know he takes a knock from it and doesn’t reset but if you look at the second half I BRS in the 33 game have had a hor horrible first half he then recovers scores a penalty he’s capable Derek it’s just about and it’s this is massive not only for James havir but for the whole team please start well yeah how many times have we not done it start well start fast and then if we get if if it doesn’t go well for Rangers today at least do it on our own terms not on terms of of us making mistakes and us not reacting until we’re two n down I know that’s all I want and if we’re not good enough fine okay fine we’re about to change everything in the summer that I get it but going do this on our own terms today leave absolutely everything out there and just going get stuck in that’s a Midfield that I can really get behind yeah it’s the basic Str need to take care of today we don’t want any disasters in defense and being masters of their own downfall no own goals no people getting send sent off no moments of madness please Rangers this afterno if they do lose a goal as well dere it’s huge keep head keep ahead don’t go lose a second one as soon as you lose the first one so you know there’s a lot to kind of think about it in the comments in the presser Derek sorry just just on Thursday there about the moments taking our moments and making sure that we do our things right I think are absolutely spot on so interest uh as you all know we’re on Instagram live there’s an interesting question that’s popped in there I wanted to flag up here uh from Grant Mai he says could it be possible a 43 21 with a flat Midfield three I think that would uh be more efficient in combating their Midfield H think he’s got a point there a three in the middle H cat M we know H do you think he’ll be allowed to to drift or do you think you’ll be given a specific job by the manager to to track someone in the Celtic Midfield who we know have got the better of Rangers in recent matches we shout out from my boy Grant I’ve known grant for a long time when I used to sit in the Sandy Jordan front more or less right next to me so he’s a good lad answer to the question could it be a flat three I think we’ll go man man for man so I think that you’ll see kwell try and push on to McGregor I wouldn’t see that being any other way um Celtic team is is what we expected it to be yeah so you know it’s a flat middle at times it might be at times it might be so I think they will try I think kwell will try and nullify McGregor space now he’s not been able to do it before he did do it in the 3-0 game last year which was a dead rubber AR was a dead rber he didn’t do it at new year was a we bit injured than that I think he was so we we rely on Todd canwell and Luke to be honest without being harsh and everybody knows I’m a massive fan of Todd canwell he’s spoken a lot it’s time for him to really put in that signature appearance yeah for Rangers and and this is it you you wanted the he wants this he wants to be the center of the he wants everything so here’s your opportunity go do it yeah he’s not done it enough for me we were discussing I think when we were on the video uh last week uh about the number of big games that he’s actually stepped up and really made a difference H the Europa League game against SP prag is the only one that rings to my mind I know he touched on on the Celtic game but we need him this is why he was brought to the club because he’s a Difference Maker isn’t he he can he can win this game himself he set up the two goals for seral desas in the semi we need him to be on top of his game today we absolutely do but he’s not the only one so yeah without kind of singling him out we need diamandi to play dandi is not argu have been the same you know I mean Rasin we need him to perform so this is huge for everybody but there’s such an opportunity such an opportunity for these players Derek to go and and make have signature Rangers moments yeah right s ders have all been on his back all season he’s got 22 goals he scored at parkhead last time arguably should have scored well did score at iBooks but then get red out off yeah he could have his big moment oh and we’d all love it we’d all love it so it could be massive and let’s just hope that somebody has I don’t care ladies and gentlemen who it is it could go off somebody’s bum and go in for all Ika you know just go and do it yeah so but it is it’s as Scott says there is makeer break for a few of them and he’s absolutely right but it’s also a chance to completely flip your whole career at Rangers cwell goes in storms usest today if Des goes in storms usest today then what happens is that the whole outlook of how rangers fans feel about them and all that completely changes so it’s all there and that would be it for me today yeah not only in a cup final not only are you not only are you um representing Rangers and everything else but you’ve got a massive chance to go and become a hero and go go and do all that and it’s just it’s if you want to be a footballer it’s where you want to be so I mean it’s uh it’s all there for them today is it’s all there absolutely um let’s get to some of the comments that com in there Derek H says thank goodness for your live show pacing the house and garden and can now be distracted for 20 minutes yeah no problem at all Derek you’re very welcome H Dan life says who’s on the bench Lads if you can see the ticker below buddy H you can see the team in its entirety the Rangers bench MC lrom Jack matondo sadell Wright Mosin and McKinnon uh we touched on it very offensive options on there for the manager good to have rabie Mondo back as a an option Stevie yeah he’s a a curveball Cameo type of thing isn’t he so he can he can certainly produce his it before you know i’ just love to be able to be in a position where we’re still in this game 75 80 minutes maybe dare I say it maybe we even sneak to be goal somewhere and we’re still in this game and then you bring on Rabbi and and if they if they’re going forward then he’s the type that can exploit it a bit so rabie matondo coming on when you’re two n down isn’t really much use so we need to stay in this game the manager said that this 11 that started won’t be the 11 that finishes you might say that’s an obvious comment but it’s uh it’s going to be interesting to see when you see so many offensive players like you said how are they going to swap that about would you say to Sterling and and canwell and Silva Des Etc going empty that tank for 60 minutes and then we’re swwa out because sea Mondo then coming on there is really interesting so we need to keep in this game we need to keep tight and we just need to make sure that we don’t make the same mistakes as we always do that’s that’s massive for us yeah uh we touched on players been maker break Nico Raskin has came in in recent games yeah yeah Nico Rasin fan I mean we haven’t he hasn’t really set the he I like this season he has been injured at various points and he hasn’t been given a chance uh certain games under the manager which surprised me I thought he would really Blossom under uh a Belgian coach hasn’t quite happened but his quality is there Stevie he’s another one that that can really um take this game by that the Scruff can’t if he’s if he’s on form yeah I like him you know I do got a soft spot for him so he’s a player that I like he’s he’s somebody that can press he’s somebody that can Harry and you know what he does other midfielders that we don’t that we have don’t he kicks right and what I mean by that folks is you don’t want people going out there injuring people that’s not what I’m suggesting but what I’m saying is by kicking tactical tactical fils and things like that and he disrupts yeah right now at Park head if people watch that game back when Nik rasing come on he did it a lot to McGregor just nipping and he stops him playing and it disrupts everything and it McGregor if he’s allowed to dictate we’ll just St about but if Rasin goes and pushes and we press and we kick and we Harry then I think that we’ll get joy in there Raskin is a player that can do that and by the way Raskin can shoot Rask’s got the ability to scalp it as well so we need that from Midfield I would really love the we fell to have a game I really like him he’s a really nice boy he’s he’s tremendous to speak and deal with and I think that on the park I think people are right he hasn’t really shown up right MH and I get that but in the last couple of games I’ve seen something in there that I think we can get out of him and I also think as well Derek that he had a horrible injury and we maybe don’t realize how long it takes players just to get back into it and get into the swing of it is so difficult yeah so and that’s what see what KY says there about tactical fil StreetWise being cute and things like that that is what I was trying to do try to say that’s what Rasin does and he breaks up so much because like you’ll wi and he’ll nip and especially on McGregor if you watch that par k two1 down or you know with with 10 men we should have been out that game but he come on and he changed it because of his his ability to really get in there so um I like him I really do and I hope that he that’s what I mean about people having their big moments have your big moment ni go grasp it this is it absolutely just uh this is how Celtic line up folks har Alistair Johnston Carter Vickers scales Taylor McGregor O’Reilly hatti forest maida and kyogo so probably as strong as Bron Rogers could possibly go there Stevie what do you make of that team um well there’s threats in there isn’t I mean the mfield is a key look I don’t think we’re here really to kind of talk them up or anything but be naive not to say that McGregor O’Reilly and hatti weren’t a really good Midfield three because they are yeah and if we allow it they’ll hurt us or will hurt us if we if we let him shots away from the box James Forest he seems about 49 year old or something but he’s just he’s just back isn’t he playing form and he’s he seems to have been around for ages and ages a player Maya we know is is difficult for tab to deal with yes and kogo can finish he always doesn’t have the the best games against as kogo but gets half a chance and TS so I mean there’s threats everywhere however I’m not convinced Alis Johnson’s the best defender I’m not convinced that Greg Taylor is the best defender and I’m certainly not convinced that William skilles is either Carter vicker a big strong guy so he can he can deal with ders but we should be looking to play off of those those people in there and oy and hatti right will be full on for 60 minutes and then they’ll fade as well so we’ve got to stick in this game you know and I thought for the first 20 30 minutes at parkhead although we got away with it slightly we were still in it we need to be in the same as that today and we’ve got to make sure that if something bad happens and they do score or whatever then we need to recover and not let them go get another two or three or whatever so it’s a strong team I think we all could have predicted what they were going to do and that comes with advantages for us as well cuz we played of time then to figure out how we’re going to stop it or at least try yeah so big day for the manager to tactically get it right but we’ve beaten better sides than this in the past this is not the strongest Celtic sides even in the last two or three years they’ve got a mental age over Rangers yeah they do they do it’s a cup final and it’s a one off so you know you need to get over that I I know you mentioned the Alistair Johnson and I agree I don’t think he is H the greatest right back of all time Fabio Silva had a decent game I thought it Park head against him um in one-on ones he’s strong but if you watch positionally he gets caught by somebody running behind him quite a lot and watch out for that today if we can try and exploit that from Johnson I think positionally gets lost a we bit and I think that Silva is is got the capability as well and but as I said at the start I know it’s not po sil’s actually come on to something so I wonder good goal at the weekend against good anticipation and if if he could that’s what I mean that kind of movement where the fullback gets caught I think Johnson’s capable of getting C like that so I I really think there’s joy to be had there to Silva Silva got two clear opportunities at par to they the volley I get it it was difficult from the side but that was the way he came in from from Johnston if we get an opportunity you like has to score has to score um the guy set up Fabio Silva’s goal at T Castle is on the bench he scored a beauty as well Ross mccoslin could he consider himself perhaps unfortunate not to start today’s game yeah and I think if red van hadn’t made it he probably would I think that mosin’s just a unlucky and guilty of the fact that the others have have been fit and made it so um I feel sorry for him but you know when I done my stuff a couple of weeks ago Dereck and we were talking about who stay and who goes and I was saying that Ross mcen could be a big player for us in the future a lot of people had kind of scaven remarks about that Ross mcen is a good player he had another one with horrendous injury kept him out the best part of three months 10 to 12 weeks he was out and it was a horrible challenge these things take time to get over and then you’ve seen in the last couple of games I’ll be arguably you might say dead robbers but he is capable of coming on so it’s another option From the Bench but in order to get these substitutions to be you know profitable for us we need to stop being and that’s that’s huge for us because they will come and try and swamp us like they will try and kill us swamp Us in the first 30 minutes I think there’s n sh of that the way that that he spoke you know talking about what another karic performance and every else they will come for us straight away but that works two ways because if they don’t manage it gaps in behind if they don’t manage it they’ll tail off a we bit and then we can come into it so um see this this game’s different though we heard John Lon before the Parkade game saying they have to weather the storm for the first 20 minutes which um I would Ranger teams to go out I wanted the Rangers team to go out and take the game to Celtic I knew where he was coming from but this is a cup final um we’re not at Park head I want Rangers to go at Celtic from the off however do you think Celtic given the the way games have gone in the past that Rangers were look to just to soak up like you say there and then try and hit on the break perhaps is this team capable of going for the jugler and pressing High immediately from kickoff look history would tell you not because we’ve seen it haven’t we and we’ve also seen that this this team haven’t been able to do it on the past but it’s a different selection today like that Silva can’t will St and deand rasing that’s energy that’s there so can they press I think they probably can the difference of op pressing is when you do decide to go you have to go and actually do it and make sure you don’t get cut out so it’s easy to play around I think that’s where like des’s press has to be better at parkhead his press was very obvious and he wasn’t doing it right seen how frustrated Tom Lawrence was getting with that yeah so and we were getting easily played around but that comes with it with with its kind of advantages from the point of view is if they’re going to try and do that and play and we’re going to press then there’s mistakes to be had you seen it the other night B lus one of the best teams in the world unbeaten romp the German league you know thrashing Bayern Munich and everything else and Atlanta totally spook them totally spook them now yeah folks I’m not saying that we’ve got players as good as atanta and everything else but what I’m saying to you Eric is that if you get it right and you get a press right and you do it in unison and you unruffle like or unnerve the other teams then you’ve got a chance yeah interestingly no Lawrence in Squad today Stephanie with a point here uh she says uh let me just get the comment up what am I doing here she says was that Danny Dyer walking past H love it yeah yeah I think he uh from from his from his last trip up for the old fun Gamers the famous video shows maybe he’s a he’s poed his pants about coming his pants about coming back up for an old firm game but yeah very much looking forward to this final uh we will be back on fulltime folks hopefully we’re uh joyous and celebrating a cup double for Rangers and uh yeah finishing the season on a high after a disappointing League campaign but that Rangers team once again butland in Gold havir balagan Davis red van Rasin damand canwell Sterling Silva and Des so uh yeah plenty of content to come your way that Walter unveiling statue um uh video is on YouTube you can go and check that out as well in the leadup to kick off right big thanks to Stevie and to each and every one of you for tuning in a positive Stevie dere positive Stevie as never seen on Rangers review so um that’s hope you’re still smiling after hours got a weird feeling got a weird feeling maybe it’s the chicken or something I don’t know score prediction how do you think it’s going to end up two1 Rangers 2-1 okay so honestly I really would be absolutely magnificent I can’t wait for Joshua trying to tell us to sit down there we are one to do one in that place country so um ladies and gentlemen thanks for watching Hope um we’re all smiling come the post match video yeah absolutely and uh no problem at all Bill thank you for H tuning in as ever uh and we’ll speak to you a little later on bye