Following Hearts’ 2-0 loss at Hampden Park, David Edgar retaliated at Steven Naismith for his remarks made prior to the game about Rangers.
On April 21, the Heart & Hand host responded on Twitter to the Jam Tarts manager’s pregame assertions that Philippe Clement’s team had been fortunate in their recent run of good play and implied that it was not surprising for them to have faltered given the Ibrox squad’s track record of trophy failure.
With two goals from Cyriel Dessers, Rangers advanced to the cup final against Celtic thanks to a stronger showing.
In response to the dismal performance of the Gers, Naismith had previously stated, via BBC Sport Scotland (18 April), “I think it’s unexpected, surprised I’m not sure, there’s certain guys who’ve been there over their years and failed to win trophies…
“I believe that throughout their current winning streak, they have also occasionally relied on luck to win. For example, that game [2-1 vs Hearts, October 29] and a few others, but they are a team that plays a particular style.
In response, following the cup victory, Edgar wrote: “Never did know when to keep his mouth shut.”
After Cyriel Dessers’s goal against Hearts, Rangers secure a spot in the Celtic final.
As these remarks have for Naismith, scathing remarks made before a crucial game are always likely to plague a manager.
Although he was taking a risk, in his defense, what he said wasn’t necessarily wrong given that his team had lost 5-0 at Ibrox in their previous meeting on February 24, had lost 3-1 at the same stage of the Viaplay Cup final on November 5, and had never triumphed over Rangers at Hampden in 16 attempts.
After Michael Beale’s terrible start, Clement turned things around to win the first trophy of the season and storm back into the title race. For months, it seemed like Clement had the secret to unlocking the best of almost every player at Ibrox.
However, the fact that the Light Blues lost 10 of their 15 games played since the beginning of March to give Celtic the title advantage and send them out of the Europa League implied that they were likely overachieving before. After all, no successful team can succeed without a healthy dose of good fortune.
Due to the players’ decline in form, a significant player exodus has been anticipated for the summer. However, a much-needed win has given them the slimmest chance to salvage a now extremely unlikely domestic triple.
After making major lineup changes and benching players like Connor Goldson, Clement needed a response from his players, and for the most part he got one at Hampden. The Belgian didn’t need much luck to advance to the final, though.
A club is currently counting down the days until they sign a senior Ibrox player away from Glasgow, in other Rangers news.
