There are going to be big changes at Rangers this summer. That would have been the case regardless of the defeat at Celtic Park which ended their title hopes.

It’ll still be the case if they can beat Brendan Rodgers’ side at Hampden in the Scottish Cup Final on May 25. Philippe Clement will already be certain in his own mind of what he needs to do to make his squad more reliable, consistent and effective over a full campaign to win a championship. But the Rangers boss would much rather go into the close season on the back of celebrating another trophy win.

I believe it would still represent a successful season for Rangers if they win the Scottish Cup. If you had offered any Rangers fan a cup double when Clement came through the door at Ibrox, I think every one of them would have bitten your hand off for that. So the opportunity is still there for them to finish on a high. They need to find a way to beat Celtic, something they haven’t done this season. It’s something they haven’t done often enough over the last few years.

So there is a psychological and mental aspect to it for Rangers to overcome. Have Celtic got their number? Have they just got better players? These are the questions which will be asked of Rangers leading into the Final. They had a chance to dispel all of that at Celtic Park by showing they were capable of delivering in the lion’s den and in the big moments. They fell short again.

It’s been a familiar situation for Clement to find himself in since he took charge of Rangers. It’s hard enough to go 2-0 down in any game against any opponent. But when you keep doing it against your biggest rivals and the best team in the country, you just give yourselves a mountain to climb.

Celtic were worthy of their lead. They played well and created a lot of chances. You expect Celtic to have that control, that’s how they play.

Rangers aren’t too fixated on that, they are prepared to go direct at times. They had decent success with that in spells of the first half and got back into it with Cyriel Dessers’ goal. Up until John Lundstram’s sending-off, it was a really good game. Celtic were controlling possession and territory but Rangers had their moments.

Fabio Silva had two wonderful chances to put them ahead. He had a really effective game and gave Alistair Johnston a tough time with his movement and when he had the ball at his feet.

He also had a hand in Rangers’ goal by getting at Johnston and sliding the ball to Borna Barisic. So he had a decent impact on the game but that’s no consolation to Rangers because it’s another season without a league title.

You talk about difference makers over the course of a season. Celtic have them in Callum McGregor, Matt O’Riley, Kyogo and Cameron Carter-Vickers. They ‘re players who can take Old Firm games by the scruff of the neck.

The disappointment for Rangers comes from the position they had put themselves in since Clement came in. The way the season started, no one expected them to be in contention for the title. But when you get to the top of the table, different pressure applies.

When Rangers did get their noses in front, they threw in two really poor performances and results against Ross County and Dundee. So I don’t think Rangers let Celtic off the hook any more than Celtic let Rangers off the hook when they dropped points and let them back into the title race.

But when Rangers put themselves into the position they did, they let themselves down by dropping those points in Dingwall and Dundee which gave the advantage back to Celtic. Ultimately, that has proved so costly.