Former Celtic star Kris Commons believes it was a bold call for Michael Beale to claim it would be "unthinkable" for Rangers to end the season trophyless.
Steven Gerrard's former chief lieutenant experienced two such campaigns during his previous tenure at Ibrox but the Englishman believes the time is now for success after replacing Gio Van Bronckhorst last month. And his first attempt at denying rivals Celtic a Treble chance will come in the Viaplay Cup Final on February 26.
Both sides navigated tricky semi-finals with the Premeirship leaders seeing off Kilmarnock in a bruising 2-0 win before Rangers outlasted a game Aberdeen side thanks to Kemar Roofe's extra time winner to leave Jim Goodwin crestfallen. And Commons can sense a different path to Gerrard if the 42-year-old lands instant success against their biggest rivals. Speaking in his Daily Mail column, he said: "Ange Postecoglou believes it might as well be written into his contract at Celtic Park, whilst Michael Beale feels it would be 'unthinkable' for Rangers to end this season without a trophy. That was quite a bold statement from Beale. Let's not forget, he initially arrived in Glasgow a few years ago at a time when Celtic were racking up Trebles for fun.
"As Steven Gerrard's assistant, Beale had to wait three full seasons before the Ibrox side finally won silverware. One trophy out of a possible nine wasn't exactly a great return. But he can now look forward to his first crack at winning a major honour after Rangers successfully found a way past Aberdeen in yesterday's semi-final.
"Whilst it took Gerrard the best part of three years to win a trophy, Beale could potentially do it after barely two months in the job by the time he faces Celtic in next month's final. That would be a decent feather in his cap if he can manage it, given the way Gerrard continually fluffed his lines in the domestic cup competitions.
"But, for Postecoglou and Celtic, they will be going out all guns blazing as they bid to land the first leg of what they hope will be another Treble. Postecoglou won't get too caught up in this kind of thing. He's so focused on the process of improving each and every day that he won't get bogged down in any talk of Trebles.
"But that will eventually be a key barometer of his tenure at Celtic. If he can win a Treble, he will go down as one of the club's all-time greats. The only people to have done it previously are Jock Stein, Martin O'Neill, Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon. That's the sort of esteemed company he'd be looking at.
"From a Rangers point of view, they will be hell-bent on trying to stop another Celtic Treble. Their season basically hinges on their ability to do exactly that. Yes, of course, they will want to focus on themselves and win a trophy for their own benefit. But, as with all things in Glasgow, you're inevitably compared with what's happening across the city. If you can have a chance to spoil the party and stop your rivals from winning a Treble, it could still put a smile on fans' faces even if it's been an otherwise average season."
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