I’m all for Rangers cup final replay if they let me dig out my boots to do 2003 Celtic clash over again – Chris Sutton

The Premier Sport Cup Final on Sunday has sparked a frenzied response, with some even suggesting that the game ought to be repeated.

I would wholeheartedly support it. Actually, maybe I should pull out my boots so we can try the 2003 Celtic vs. Rangers League Cup Final again.

Do you recall the Rangers winning the trophy when John Hartson’s goal was disallowed for offside when he was nearly 25 yards onside? Let’s repeat that. In fact, we might as well throw another party at almost every final in history if we are going to repeat them for refereeing errors.

Willie Collum’s admission that the VAR officials botched the contentious penalty call won’t give Rangers much solace, but they can’t use the incident as a way to divert attention from yet another Celtic loss and another trophy that has eluded them.

It may have been a penalty, but it could have been missed, and Celtic could have responded again.

It was the same in 2003. We had opportunities to score after the offside call but didn’t take them. That’s the way it goes. The way Rangers have reacted since Sunday just smacks to me of how far expectation levels have fallen at Ibrox – and the losers mentality that is still around the club.

There’s been a narrative that they were robbed at Hampden and they played really well. Excuse me, didn’t they concede three goals? And against a Celtic team that wasn’t really firing on all cylinders?

Are we handing out more moral trophies again because Rangers didn’t get pumped? This isn’t the Ibrox club I came up against. They are using the big decision as a crutch, when in reality they finished second best to Celtic once more.

They did perform admirably, particularly when they held Celtic in check in the first half. They showed tenacity by rallying from deficits of 2-1 and 3-2. However, they were still unsuccessful and left with nothing. Furthermore, they are still plagued by significant doubts.

Under Philippe Clement, things have gotten better in the last few weeks. They were excellent against Spurs, in my opinion, and got better in later games. However, the selection of games is really limited. Should we simply disregard the preceding four months?

Clement has bought breathing space but I still think he’s on his last legs. Failure to beat Celtic at Ibrox at New Year and I can’t see him surviving.

He was bleating about the Hampden call but it should paper over the issues that remain. It also shouldn’t diminish Celtic’s achievement. Unlike their rivals, they do know how to win.

I’ve seen some people criticising some of the performances of late. I think it’s unbelievably harsh. They clearly don’t understand just how hard it is to win every week. I do – and it’s tough.

The games are coming thick and fast and Celtic are admirably still grinding out results. They’ll need to keep doing so as the schedule is not going to get any lighter any time soon.

The same goes for Rangers and the rest. It’s not like Celtic are struggling though. They haven’t lost domestically since March and the only time they’ve scored less than two goals in a game in Scotland was when they won in the freezing Pittodrie monsoon a few weeks ago.

That’s not struggling. The difference between Celtic and Rangers is one has more levels to come. One also has more spending power come the January window. There’s already talk of Kieran Tierney coming back.

I can understand the excitement among fans. It would be a real feather in the cap if they can persuade him to return. Tierney is a quality player – if he’s fully fit. That’s the big question after the last few years.

I also have other reasons to be sceptical over the move. Finances for one. I can’t say I know him that well but it doesn’t seem that he is overly money orientated.

That could be good news for Celtic. But there is absolutely no doubt there will be interest in him from clubs in England and abroad – and figures that can blow Celtic out of the water.

It might become a heart over head job at that point for the player but if you were advising him, would another two or three year deal on big money somewhere not make more sense than taking a substantial pay cut now? Only he can answer that one. Even taking a slash in wages, it would still mean Celtic taking a serious deviation from their financial model. It would be a lot of money for not a lot of sell on value.

Some players are worth it – and Tierney could be one of them. It goes back to the fitness issue though. He’s had a torrid couple of years and needs to be back playing regularly. It’s a gamble English teams can afford to take, but would Celtic? It’s a big question – and there are others around Greg Taylor and Alex Valle.

I know I have been critical of Taylor at the Champions League level but he’s been a brilliant signing for Celtic. Ideally he’d sign a new deal but that now looks unlikely. Valle might fancy cracking it at Barcelona as there’s no sign of a permanent deal at Celtic in the pipeline. Tierney could be the answer to all of the above. I’ll not be holding my breath – and I won’t be digging out my boots for the 2003 replay either.