One has to think that a lot more is riding on the result of the Scottish League Cup final for Philippe Clement than Brendan Rodgers. The Belgian manager has struggled to get a tune out of the Rangers this season. And even though he was handed a long-term contract extension just some months back, another high-profile defeat at the hands of Celtic could very well spell the end of his run at Ibrox.
Clement has taken an interesting angle ahead of the final though. He seems keen to paint the Rangers as the underdogs heading into the game due to the financial gap between the two sides.
To be fair, a gap does exist between the two but it is not substantial enough for the Rangers to be considered perennial underdogs. They have several other problems which have contributed to their struggles in recent years.
Also, a financial gap between the two Glasgow sides is not anything new. There was a point in time when Rangers were on the other side. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Peter Grant told the Go Radio Football Show:
"Nobody said anything when Souness came in in 1986/87 or through the 90s.
“Never once, when we lost to Rangers or whatever, did anyone say it was financially because they were stronger.
“They had better players, big players. The captain of England came in at the time."
Philippe Clement claim rubbished before Celtic vs Rangers final
There is a significant gap between the two when it comes to revenue. But that is not the case when it comes to the money being put into running the clubs.
As reported by BBC, in the most recent accounts, Celtic announced a £13.4m profit while bringing in revenue of £124.6m. On the other hand, Rangers' equivalent figures were a £17.2m loss against £88.3m revenue.
All things considered, the Rangers should definitely be more competitive than they have been in recent seasons. In fact, Clement is yet to win a single Glasgow Derby.
Celtic should be thinking about none of that going into the final though. Instead, their focus has to be on bringing their A-game to Hampden Park.