Celtic TV commentator aims dig at Rangers skipper James Tavernier during Viaplay Cup final
Rangers lost 2-1 against Celtic in the Viaplay Cup final on Sunday (26 February) at Hampden Park, where Celtic TV commentator Gerry McCulloch appeared to have aimed a dig at James Tavernier.
In the final 20 minutes of the match, Tavernier lined up a free-kick after a Celtic defender brought a player down. Tavernier was seen with fellow set-piece specialist Borna Barisic over the free-kick.
It was at that time, McCulloch aimed a dig at the Rangers skipper, and he brought up the issue of the number of penalty kicks they’ve been awarded this season.
“Tavernier of course, I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll be the one to take this set-piece,” said McCulloch on Celtic Tv, as relayed by Football Scotland.
“Quite a bit back from his normal set-piece position on the penalty spot.”
Hurts
The defeat will hurt Rangers badly. They have suffered a massive psychological blow but the players will have to pick themselves up.
Beale has done a terrific job since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and he has raised the expectation levels.
The Bears were free-falling under the Dutchman where they went nine points behind Celtic. Beale arrested the decline as Rangers managed 13 wins and a draw in 14 games prior to this fixture.
The confidence in the side was sky high, but the result will be a learning curve for Beale. It only shows that a lot of work is still required to close the gap with Celtic.
At the same time, Beale will probably learn from his mistakes. His decision to drop Nicolas Raskin from the starting line-up proved costly, while he now has got a clear idea that the midfield needs to be bolstered in the summer.
There’s still a lot of football left to be played but Beale must prepare from now on for the summer ahead.
In other Rangers news, the club have pulled of a major transfer coup with a deal already signed for a player who was interesting two English giants.