That may work in a positive way of course. We have struggled against them all season and after the abject humiliation of our last effort against them we should not be lacking in motivation to get a result. Of course, motivation is not always enough. We would have been motivated before the final but that didn’t stop Rangers thrashing us without getting out of 2nd gear.
So, what reasons are there to be hopeful? Well, with this being a league game we should be free of the nerves which paralysed us so badly last time. Also significant will be the venue of the match. The wide-open spaces of Hampden stopped us pressing Rangers and they used the gaps to crucify us. That will not be the case on Sunday and the tight pitch will definitely be to our advantage. We can also hope that Rangers will be complacent going into the game but given how important the match is, that hope is liable to be fleeting.
But the match is also important to us. Kilmarnock could easily win at Dundee, moving within a point of us, whilst Inverness should take a point at worst from Aberdeen at home which would keep them in the hunt as well. A defeat for us on Sunday could leave our top six place looking distinctly shaky.
The team which seemed to pick itself against Rangers last time could well change. Marc Fitzpatrick will be in with a shout to come in for Stepover on the left although Richie Foran will probably retain his place due to the suspension of Jim Hamilton. One surprise up the sleeve of Butcher may well be Brian Kerr. Now he has played in a couple of reserve games, he must be knocking on the door of the first team. Could he possibly come in to give us some dig in midfield? Leitch and O’Donnell were brushed aside last time and some younger legs might be needed.
As for Rangers, they will be largely unchanged although remarkably Marvin Andrews wants to play through cruciate ligament damage.
Can we get anything out of the game? Yes, but once again it will take us to play well whilst they have an off day but in every occasion this season they have brushed us aside comfortably. It probably won’t be any different this time either – Motherwell 0-2 Rangers.
