Copyright dailyrecord
Rangers fans are believing again ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm showdown against Celtic at Hampden. New gaffer Danny Rohl has somehow lifted the dark cloud that had engulfed Ibrox at the start of the campaign - and led them to two Premiership victories in a row. The wins over Kilmarnock and Hibs weren’t spectacular and only took Gers to third place in the league table. But there’s a sense the German coach is building something and - compared to where they were under Russell Martin - the contrast is stark. At Easter Road on Wednesday night, he said he doesn’t have a plan yet for Martin O’Neill’s Hoops side in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final. And despite the chaos at Celtic over Brendan Rodgers’ departure, the holders are still favourites for the tie. But Rohl’s impact at Rangers has given them a genuine chance of reaching the final and taking a huge step towards silverware. If he’s going to win his first Glasgow derby, he’ll need to get most things right at Hampden. And there’s still plenty to ponder when it comes to how he goes about it. Here is Record Sport’s five burning issues for Rangers before the cup clash: Rohl switched it up against Hibs on Wednesday night with the Celtic game in mind. His starting line-up raised eyebrows, especially with skipper James Tavernier left out. At Hampden, he’ll have to do without Connor Barron , who was terrific in Edinburgh. So Rohl will shuffle the pack again as he bids to get one over on O’Neill’s Celtic. The back three - or five when they’re defending - should pick itself, with Tavernier returning. Nasser Djiga impressed against Hibs and should start alongside John Souttar, Derek Cornelius and Jayden Meghoma. In midfield, you’d expect Mohamed Diomande to be Barron’s direct replacement in the engine room. But it’s ahead of that where it gets interesting. Danilo’s two goals in two games surely sees him play in one of the positions just off a main striker? Who fills the other one is between Mikey Moore, Djeidi Gassama and Thelo Aasgaard. Then up front, it will be Youssef Chermiti or Bojan Miovski as the central striker. Miovski has caused Celtic problems in the past during his spell at Aberdeen but it looks certain that Rangers’ £8 million man will get the nod. Whether it’s been by accident or design, it doesn’t matter. Rohl’s switch to a 3-4-2-1 formation has helped Rangers massively in the last two games. After their disastrous Europa League defeat to Brann Bergen, where he went with a back four on his dug-out debut, he had to change it. And this system appears to suit his players far better. You’d be amazed if he doesn’t go with it again at Hampden against Celtic. The key for Rangers is that it gets more players in both boxes - to defend and attack the ball - which wasn’t happening enough under Martin. The two players just off the main striker can get close to the centre-forward but also tuck in to congest Rangers' midfield and make them more difficult to play through. Rohl will hope that if Celtic struggle to pick those two up, his side can get some joy. Souttar excels playing centrally in a back three, where he can build Rangers attacks, but have protection either side of him. The wing-backs are better further forward, while Chermiti is more of a threat with two players close to him. For too long now, Rangers teams have been accused of not having the character or mindset to win this type of game. Even last year in the Premier Sports Cup Final, they did brilliantly to get themselves back in it against Celtic - but eventually lost on penalties. This semi-final is about getting over the line. The performance doesn’t really matter - the most important thing is booking your place on December 14 where you’ll face either St Mirren or Motherwell and have a golden chance of lifting silverware. That’s the opportunity these Rangers players have against a Celtic side who aren’t firing on all cylinders. It will take Rohl longer than a couple of weeks to instil a winning mentality into his squad. But he’s made a decent start and Wednesday night’s win at Easter Road felt like a massive step. Not in terms of how they played but the resilience they showed to dig in and secure a gritty 1-0 victory. They’ll need another gutsy display on Sunday to get past Celtic and might have to suffer at some point along the way. But if they can come through it successfully, it could have a huge impact on this group’s mindset going forward. Rohl was an 11-year-old schoolboy when O’Neill first took over at Celtic and won his maiden Old Firm derby 6-2 at Parkhead. It’s incredible that 25 years later, the German coach will now face the wily old campaigner at Hampden in a vital cup semi-final. At 73, O’Neill has 37 years on his Rangers counterpart and bags of managerial experience under his belt. The atmosphere and occasion at Hampden certainly won’t faze the Northern Irishman who has seen it and done it all before. It will be a whole new ball game for Rohl in his first Old Firm. But he’s shown himself to be calm and collected in the job so far, going about his business with a quiet confidence. Also, it’s not as if he hasn’t been in the dug-out for big games before. Remember, he’s been assistant to Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich when they were winning Bundesliga and Champions League titles. And he coached the German national team at a World Cup as Flick’s trusted number two. It will be a fascinating battle between two different generations of coaches, who have their own distinct style of playing. Rohl will hope his modern ideas, coaching and tactics can outfox a Celtic legend. Despite Rangers’ mini-revival under Rohl, there are still question marks over whether they have the quality to see off Celtic. The summer recruitment wasn’t good enough, which ultimately led to Martin losing his job. Rohl has proved adept in the last two games at working with what he’s got and setting them up in a certain way to beat Killie and Hibs. But Sunday will be on a different level altogether. On a huge occasion, he'll need someone to come up with a moment of magic to win him the tie and take Rangers to a final. It might be keeper Jack Butland, who proved his worth at Easter Road again with a late penalty save. Or could it be James Tavernier again from right-back, who has won this trophy with a goal of his own before? It’s more likely to be in the forward areas where Rohl and Rangers need to find themselves a new derby hero. So who is capable of stepping up to the plate? That’s what the manager will contemplate when choosing his starting 11. Right now, it doesn’t look like Chermiti is capable of it. Miovski is also struggling for form up front. It could be one of the creative players, like Danilo who looks reborn, Moore, Gassama or Aasgaard. It’s a chance for one of the new boys to win the game for Rangers - and etch their names into the club’s history.
