Former Celtic hero Alan Thompson reckons Rangers' defeat in Seville will hit the players harder than the loss to Porto back in 2003.
There is an eerie similarity between the Glasgow rivals and their European final defeats after Gio van Bronckhorst's side suffered heartbreak days before the Scottish Cup showpiece.
It was the same story for the Parkhead side under Martin O'Neill as Jose Mourinho's men lifted the UEFA Cup with a dramatic 3-2 victory before the final day of the league season.
Celtic would go on to miss out on the title on goal difference as they were outscored by Rangers in what would be O'Neill's only trophyless season at Celtic Park.
Going into the Hampden showdown with Hearts, Thompson reckons a similar situation could be on the cards at Ibrox this term.
He told The Times : "They'll (Rangers) be flat just now but they've just got to pick themselves up somehow because they have another big cup final to try to win.
"They don't have much time to get themselves right and they'll be drained both emotionally and physically but they need to get themselves up for it again because the Scottish Cup is at stake here.
"It would be quite ironic if Hearts were to win.
"Back in 2003 everyone spoke about our great run to the Final but it was the only season under Martin where we didn't win a trophy.
"Rangers have had an equally good run to Seville but there's a chance they could also end up without any silverware.
"I reckon the defeat will hit Rangers harder than it hit us and we were devastated.
"Losing on penalties is undoubtedly worse than losing 3-2, which we did, especially since we played the bulk of extra time with 10 men after Bobo Balde was sent off.
"When it goes to penalties, though, you already have one hand on the trophy because it's then a 50-50 affair. Plus Rangers had gone in front on Wednesday while we came from behind twice.
"We had a title-deciding game against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park four days after losing to Porto. We won 4-0 but Rangers beat Dunfermline 6-1 at Ibrox to pip us to the title by a single goal.
"Now the current Rangers team has a cup final just three days later."
