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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Ben Banks

Ally McCoist insists Rangers DON'T need Scottish Cup glory but he adds Celtic Treble caveat to trophy claim

Ally McCoist says the Scottish Cup is not a non-negotiable for Rangers - and there's still plenty of road to run in the Premiership too.

Michael Beale's side swept past Raith Rovers 3-0 in the competition's last eight thanks to Connor Goldson, a deflected James Tavernier effort and Scott Arfield's late finish. They move on to Hampden where either Celtic, Inverness, Falkirk or Inverness await them. In some quarters, it's viewed as Rangers' best chance to win silverware this season as they trail Celtic by nine points in the league while they also lost the League Cup final to their bitter rivals.

Club legend McCoist doesn't think this year's Scottish Cup is a must-win for his beloved side though, with progress under relatively new boss Michael Beale the key factor. He told Viaplay: "No, I don't think they have to win it. They will clearly want to win it as it's massive for them.

"They will want to prevent Celtic from winning the treble, it looks like they will win the league although there is still a lot of football to be played. Continued improvement, that's where I am at on it.

"There has been improvement clearly since Michael came in. Results have been good, the level of performances have been better, even though it wasn't brilliant here. In an ideal situation they would want to win the cup but do they have to win the cup? I would have to say no."

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