Michael Beale more or less conceded that the Scottish Premiership title race was finished last week.
That was realism more than defeatism because when Celtic have lost only one league game since September 2021, it is highly unlikely they are going to lose four - and with a nine point lead actually being 10 when goal difference comes into it - that's what would need to happen in the remaining 12 matches. Yes, the Rangers manager will be looking to win each of the dozen league games his team has still to play, but even two wins over Celtic - and it's hard to believe they'll get anything at Parkhead given the recent smashings they've taken there - it would make no difference in the grand scheme of things.
So, that leaves the Scottish Cup and we'll get to that later. In the here and now, though, Rangers face two league games in a week against Kilmarnock at home and Hibs away. Do they want to win them? Of course they do, but if this year's league is gone then Beale ought to be looking to next season and that future looks like being without Alfredo Morelos. The Colombian might have scored at Hampden on Sunday but if the people at Rangers are being honest with themselves, they'll recognise that Morelos is a shadow of the player he used to be and it really is time to bring the curtain down on his Ibrox career.
