Michael Beale has told his Rangers players there's nowhere to hide at Hampden this Sunday - asking them 'who's going to be a hero?'
Beale's team travel to Hampden to face Celtic in the Viaplay Cup Final looking to dispel the memories of the 2019 final that saw them lose out to Christopher Jullien's controversial winner. They trail Ange Postecoglou's side by nine points in the league but have matched them blow for blow since Beale arrived with that draw against the Hoops at Ibrox their only dropped points in 14 league games since his arrival.
Beale has started his rebuild at Ibrox and the likes of Nicolas Raskin and Todd Cantwell could make their mark at Hampden on Sunday. Beale told Rangers TV: "If you come into a club like I did in mid-season, you're unbeaten in 14 games with 13 wins, you can be happy with it so far. I've seen the team improving week in, week out in terms of understanding relationships on the pitch and it certainly helps going into this game in good form.
"The most important thing is taking the opportunity that's in front of you. It's a big opportunity for the players and for the club in general and for the fans. We want them to get used to coming here and having good days out, so it's important that we perform at our best.
"I'm here to improve our situation from where we found ourselves and it's the start of a rebuild. We're starting to see a new Rangers coming together slowly but surely. We've had a rollercoaster ride the last few years, some highs and lows, but all of that makes you stronger - the good and the bad. Let's really focus on this game and try to bring the trophy home for our fans."
On the game itself, Beale is expecting a scorcher in front of a crowd split down the middle at the national stadium. And he's challenged his stars to step up and make themselves "heroes" on the big stage.
He went on: "I'm expecting two excellent teams to go toe to toe, I'm expecting goals and excitement, it's a good game for the neutral. It's a game where the team who makes the least mistakes and can impose their style will probably go on and win.
"You've got to win it in the penalty boxes. We've been here before and played very well between the boxes but not rewarded ourselves with goals or gone on to win. We need heroes at the weekend, but who's that going to be? I'm just as excited as everybody else to see."
READ NEXT
