In the end, the scene for Rangers fans at Hampden was hopelessly familiar. The East stand taunting the West, attempting to shuffle out of sight as quickly as possible. What made this experience all the worse was the fact that Rangers probably deserved to win on the day. But of course, nobody remembers nuances in a final that is lost, only the moments that win them.

It means Rangers end the season without an Old Firm win. Philippe Clement’s appointment in October breathed life into a campaign many presumed dead in the Autumn but after six bright months, spring brought storms and clouds.

Yesterday’s 1-0 defeat at Hampden wasn’t quite the Groundhog Day experience of defeat played at Parkhead a fortnight ago. Rangers were the stronger team for large periods and their performance gradually filled half-empty glasses that arrived in blue. Mohamed Diomande was terrific in the middle and Nico Raskin, having been out in the cold for so long, not far off his midfield partner. Abdallah Sima saw a goal chopped off by VAR when his team were in the ascendency. Clement called out the inconsistency displayed by Nick Walsh, which is rare for the Belgian to do. "If I see also how all the Celtic defenders are grabbing my players and having their arms around their neck, around their waist, it is a really big call to make to disallow that goal," he said.

The defeat remains part of the overall, bleak picture for Rangers that’s gradually been painted in Glasgow since 2021. This was Celtic’s seventh trophy in three seasons, compared to Rangers’ two. The Ibrox side’s wait for a big win in the fixture now stretches into a third campaign. Speaking after Clement called rebuilding this squad in a short space of time a “massive challenge”. The price has been paid at the end of this season for a squad built last summer by a manager who left eight games in.

And although this was another game without a win for Clement against Celtic there must be a degree of realism. An experienced manager, with a stronger sporting structure, needs time and patience to fix Rangers being second place, which has fast become the norm since 2021. 

The manner in which Celtic won this game, eventually capitalising on one of the many transitions that made this often feel a breathless basketball game played on far too great a court, wasn’t coincidental. It was the small margins at Hampden that got them over the line, just as it was the small margins in the league season that did the same. As Rangers legs tired and their squad shrunk around March Brendan Rodgers’ side grew stronger.

It is the injuries, the lack of depth in wide areas and fitness levels Clement does not yet believe this squad possesses that have tripped up Rangers. James Tavernier spoke of finding an extra “10 to 15 percent” on Thursday, but it was Celtic's bench that provided the boost to lift the trophy.

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“We had moments in transitions to be decisive. We also had a few chances in that way but we were not clinical enough,” Clement reasoned in his post-match press conference, referencing Celtic's winner.

“I expected more from my players coming on because you feel in that moment we were grabbing the game and there was a lot of space in the transitions. We didn’t kill it off there. I know where players are coming from. We had a lot of talks about that, you guys asked a lot of questions about that the last couple of weeks, months, about the injuries. I know the squad is not at their best now, some players are coming out of injury and that you see in the decisive moments. A really fit Sima or really fit Matondo will finish off one of those chances, for sure.”

Rangers were missing seven starting players yesterday. Oscar Cortes, Danilo, Connor Goldson, John Souttar and Tom Lawrence were among them. If Clement were to have a fully fit compliment you’d imagine that Sima, Cortes and Danilo would make up the front three he's never been able to field.

While Celtic travelled with a full squad and could replace like for like, Clement had to instead play the best of a limited hand. Rangers haven’t been able to start with two out-and-out wingers since February. Their depth at No.9 has been non-existent. Dujon Sterling has played in all-bar two positions on the pitch. It was small margins that won this season for Celtic, but as Clement states it will take big decisions to make up that difference. 

Minutes before Celtic’s winner Rangers were handed a three-vs-three in transition. Raskin had the two players Clement brought on from the bench, Sima and Matondo, running ahead of him but the former made a premature run which slowed momentum. By the time the ball was played into Sima it was in front, rather than behind, of Liam Scales and the resulting shot was tame.

In contrast when Celtic were afforded a five-vs-five in the 89th minute Paulo Bernardo’s stinging shot would be diverted into the path of Adam Idah who stole off the back of Leon Balogun’s shoulder and benefitted from a rare Jack Butland error, moving at a sharper pace.

Sima has played only 350 minutes, less than four 90s, since January and prior to yesterday only 20 since Rangers’ last trip to Hampden in April. It is no wonder he lacked incision. Meanwhile. this was Matondo’s first appearance since the semi-final win over Hearts. Scott Wright came on to play an unfamiliar No.10 position with no natural replacement, Lawrence, in sight and would give up the ball cheaply leading to Idah’s winner, replacing Todd Cantwell who was driving his side forward. The way this game was won, or lost, proved a microcosm of the league campaign. Not quite enough legs, players in unfamiliar surroundings and lacking the sharpness that pushes finals in your favour. Clement hasn't been able to rotate his No.9s, like Rodgers, since Cortes' injury at Kilmarnock in February jettisoned Fabio Silva to the left wing. 

Given how tight yesterday’s game was, Clement is right to speak about the magnitude of the upcoming summer. This game is part of a pattern. A small tweak here or there won't be enough. 

Only in correcting the course of building this squad, and amending the injury issues behind the scenes that are increasingly referenced, can Rangers turn the tide. The Ibrox squad need cohesion as well as quality, signings to impact the short and the long, players who thrive in their normal position rather than plugging a gap elsewhere and fitness levels to compete every three days at the intensity required.

Instead in the past three seasons, they've flip-flopped from one playing style to a complete contrast, with different decision-makers on the transfer front and only sporadic recruitment wins. Celtic may have changed their manager, and suffered at points throughout the season, but have been playing in a similar fashion for seasons. There have been few square pegs in round holes in the closing, decisive weeks of the campaign. 

This was a game there for taking and the team who were better equipped and resourced to grab it did just that. Clement’s task is to ensure that cannot be the case next season.