Philippe Clement has made Rangers seismic momentum shift look simple and Celtic deniers must catch a grip – Keith Jackson

The Viaplay Cup triumph could prove to be a major turning point for the campaign reckons the Record Sport columnist.

 

Effective management is far more intricate than a simple box-ticking process. Yet having said that, Philippe Clement is starting to simplify everything.

Put an end to the decay that was destroying Michael Beale’s reputation. Verify. Utilize the same players and still be able to totally alter their performance and form? Verify.

Eat up a sizable portion of Celtic’s lead in the standings? Verify. Make it to the Europa League’s round of 16? Verify. and take home the session’s first domestic trophy?

One that the Rangers have been missing for over ten years? Yes, he has also completed that task.

If it hadn’t been occurring right here, on the doorstep that they seem so determined to ruin, it might have been simpler for those on the opposing side of Glasgow’s divide to ignore it all.

Really, the events of yesterday at Hampden, where James Tavernier’s winner in the second half of the game ended the Viaplay Cup Final, felt like a very seismic shift in momentum, especially considering that it occurred just 24 hours after chaos was erupting at Parkhead once more.

After suffering his second straight league loss, Clement is now squarely focused on Brendan Rodgers. And now, before he enters the January sales, the Belgian has the opportunity to lead Rangers to the summit of the table.

Honestly, given the dreadfully dilapidated state this lot were in when he took over from Beale, what Clement has achieved in such a short space of time is as close to remarkable as it gets.

And if there’s anyone at Celtic still in denial then now would seem like an appropriate moment to catch a grip.

There’s a genuine battle for domestic supremacy now staring them dead in the eye and all the ‘sack the boards’ in the world won’t help Rodgers to see this Rangers revival off.

At a moment in time when the champions require unity and togetherness, they seem riddled with division and unable to see the damage they are doing to themselves.

Indeed, it last felt that way only a few years ago when Rangers went on to win a first title since hitting the financial skids. As they celebrated another piece of silverware yesterday, together with their supporters, Rangers looked very much like a bunch who are developing a taste for it.

Clement may have thought his weekend could hardly get any better after seeing Celtic discombobulate at home to Hearts on Saturday afternoon. But there was more good news for him before he even climbed on the team bus for the cross city trip from Auchenhowie to Mount Florida.

And it came in the shape of Todd Cantwell, who put his hand up for selection after missing Thursday’s night’s win in Seville for personal reasons. Had Cantwell not been available, Clement would have had little choice but to give Sam Lammers another starting slot as his side’s creator in chief.

And there are only so many times the same mistake can be made without eventually paying the price for it. That said, Cantwell will have arrived at the national stadium with redemption on his mind, having been mercilessly hooked by the boss at half time during the semi-final win over Hearts.

And, with all eyes on him, that was the kind of humiliating mishap the Englishman will have wanted to avoid repeating. Cantwell covered as much grass as his little legs would allow him to throughout a fairly frenetic first half.

His influence then grew stronger after the break. And with John Lundstram and Dujon Sterling doing the hard yards behind him, this trio would effectively run Aberdeen into submission.

It wasn’t pretty at times. As a matter of fact, the opening 45 minutes was something of a running skirmish even if ref Don Robertson didn’t seem to notice. The man in charge kept his cards in his top pocket until five minutes before the break when he cautioned both Lundstram and Ester Sokler, presumably for something they said in the heat of the moment.

But sticks and stones and all that. The rest of the time Robertson was only too happy to let the rough and tumble continue all around.

Lundstram was lucky to get away with one crunching early foul and Aberdeen skipper Graeme Shinnie was running about the place like a red-shirted wrecking ball. Robertson may have wanted to let the game flow but, by allowing so much to go unpunished, he also helped this final to become a scruffy, fairly unedifying affair until it all ended up spilling over into the back of Jack Butland’s net late in the second half as tempers frayed all around.

The greatest of Aberdeen’s first-half opportunities fell short of their mark as Kelle Roos had to make a quick stop to stop Abdallah Sima’s turn-around attempt from the edge of the box. The most obvious of them was, however, missed by little Ross McCausland, who sent two headers that were nearly identical high and wide of the keeper’s back post.

Five minutes before halftime, McCausland finally found the goal, leaving the Roos with no chance. However, the young player’s moment of glory was cut short when Sima fouled Nicky Devlin a moment before. Big Phil was skulking around his technical area the entire time, appearing increasingly irritated and wearing a skip hat to shield his head from the rain.

And, at the start of the second half, they almost paid for it when Devlin’s low cross from the right flashed across the six-yard box without a single taker to apply the most simple of finishing touches. But this was Aberdeen’s only real spell of the match.

And when Tavernier struck 15 minutes from time, improvising superbly to thrash a hitch-kick home, there never looked like being a way back for them.

The big question now as Celtic wobble into the festive season, is will they prove to be any more robust now that Clement is turning up the heat for Christmas.

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