I can already hear Celtic fans saying I’ve lost the plot but I’m telling you Rangers are back – Barry Ferguson

Just a couple of weeks ago, if you want to know the honest truth, I was even dreading the thought of the short bus trip from Ibrox to Hampden.

Rangers were going to be on a hiding to nothing in the Premier Sports Cup Final and it was just a matter of gritting your teeth and getting through it.

So it comes as a very pleasant surprise to confess that my mindset has changed completely now that the latest Old Firm scrap is just about upon us. Now, before we go any further, I can hear the Celtic fans sighing already. ‘Oh aye, here we go, Barry’s lost the plot again’.

But it’s not like that. I don’t believe for a single second that everything is rosy in the Rangers garden again. Far from it. There’s still a load of improving for them to do after what has been a thoroughly disappointing start to the season.

But at least now there’s serious reason to believe they can make themselves competitive in a cup final which most Rangers fans had already written off just a few games ago. And, yes, the nature of Thursday night’s performance against Tottenham has made absolutely sure of it.

I say that for a couple of reasons. First, I was at Ibrox for the Europa League Battle of Britain tie and I could feel the difference in the mood around the old place.

For the first time this season, the fans are starting to believe in their team again. There’s a sense of positivity and a new energy in the stands. As I’ve written in this column before, Rangers are at their strongest when there is that connection with the supporters. For the first time in a long time, it’s coming back.

But, more importantly, I get the feeling that the players are starting to believe in themselves again and their tails are most certainly up as they prepare to head across the city towards the national stadium on Sunday afternoon. Trust me, self doubt is a real killer for football players. But that’s what comes when results and performances aren’t what they should be.

When you’re going through a difficult period, you start to question yourself and there are times when you wonder if you’re as good as you thought you were in the first place.

Even though Rangers have got back on track over the last fortnight or so, I’m pretty sure some of these guys went into Thursday’s game still wondering if they were up to the task of going toe-to-toe with one of the Premier League’s biggest guns.

But they didn’t just compete against Spurs. They dominated them all over the pitch and probably deserved more than just a 1-1 draw. And if that doesn’t make them feel a whole lot better about themselves then I don’t know what will.

Let’s be honest, people blow so much smoke up to the English game’s a**e that hardly anyone expected Rangers to take the game to Tottenham in the manner that they did. If anything, it was supposed to be about how long Philippe Clement’s players could hold out in the face of Big Ange Postecoglou’s ferocious firepower.

But that wasn’t even close to the reality of it. Rangers went on the front foot right from the start – they were aggressive and assured throughout – and they were still on the ascendancy all the way to the end when Cyriel Dessers came so close to bagging a winner.

And, as much as Celtic and their fans won’t want to admit it, they’ll have watched that performance and realised that Sunday’s cup final probably won’t be just as straightforward as they and everyone else thought it would be. If they are really honest, they’ll also admit that their one side has tailed off a little bit over the last month or so.

Celtic were sensational in the semi final thrashing of Aberdeen. They backed that up a few days later by thumping RB Leipzig at Parkhead in the Champions League and, at that moment in time, the prospects for Rangers at Hampden didn’t look great.

But while Celtic’s level has dropped a little bit since then, Clement has managed to get things turning around on the other side of the city. And that makes the thought of this final a lot more interesting than it was,

With Ianis Hagi and Danilo to come back into Clement’s squad, there’s an exciting, attacking edge to the team the Belgian will put out. Rangers have been too predictable and too rigid in the final third for most of the campaign. But that’s all changed now that these two have come into the side along with Hamza Igamane, who doesn’t know what he’s going to do next, never mind his opponent.

All of a sudden, there’s a fluidity about the way Rangers are operating in forward areas. They are interchanging and mixing things up and that makes them very difficult to defend against. It also means they will carry a threat to Celtic that they simply didn’t possess in the first derby of the season.

What they have to do is draw strength and confidence from the way they set about Spurs on Thursday night. Yes, they have to respect Celtic but they have no reason to fear them. Part of that respect might mean Clement has some big decisions to make in terms of his team selection.

James Tavernier represents an obvious dilemma because the skipper is looking back to his best and he came up with another assist the other night for Igamane’s opener. But, as much as he offers going forward, it does feel like this might be the time for Clement to try something different in terms of limiting the damage Daizen Maeda does to Rangers down that right hand side.

For that reason, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dujon Sterling get the nod at right back because, physically, he might give Maeda something different to think about. Yes, that would take something away from the attacking side of the team but with Hagi, Danilo and Igamane up the other end of the pitch Rangers should still be able to impose themselves upon Celtic and give them plenty to worry about at the back.

Of course, Clement might have another idea else up his sleeve. He may even send out the same team as he did on Thursday night and, if that’s the case, I wouldn’t have any big issues. The fact is, for the first time in a long time, Rangers have options and Clement has a dressing room full of confident players all battling for starting places. And that’s why Sunday’s trip to Hampden might be a whole lot more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be.