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With another Parkhead derby just around the corner, there's a justifiable sense of anticipation, and dare I say it, trepidation in the air.

Rangers have suffered two batterings from three visits while Ange Postecoglou has been Celtic's manager and a third would be an even more bitter pill to swallow. Michael Beale has reconfigured Rangers into a winning machine since taking the reins, but the League Cup final suggested the difference between the sides remains significant. In the lion's den on Saturday, with no away fans, there will be a stern examination of both the players and the manager himself.

There are three games left this season for Beale to make a mark in the rivalry that will define his tenure. And while every one of these clashes will provoke untold noise, he must not let the din obscure what's most important - winning trophies.

A visit to Glasgow's East End is never easy. Dick Advocaat, Walter Smith and Graeme Souness took much better teams there and found out for themselves. Of the trio of clashes remaining, this one's the most difficult. While a win would narrow the gap to six points in the league with an Ibrox fixture to come, even with victory in both you'd still fancy Celtic to plough through the rest of the division at a rate that matches Rangers given both their form and firepower.

No, this league title was left practically unattainable in the games preceding Giovanni van Bronckhorst's exit where Livingston and St Mirren were able to stifle their attacks and claim draws. For Beale, the Scottish Cup is the be-all and end-all of what remains this season. The powder keg Hampden clash will be another riot of noise, colour and poison in equal measures. The manager will know a failure to win will see him come under heavy scrutiny.

While he's already shown some serious chops given his superb record in the league, no Rangers manager can survive a failure to best their bitter rivals. Of course, Beale has been in Scotland long enough across two spells to know that as well as anyone. While his first Old Firm as manager was a creditable 2-2 draw at Ibrox where Rangers could have won were it not for some shoddy defending late in the game, the second was something of a disaster.

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The narrow 2-1 defeat in the League Cup final was met with serious discontent from the fan base, not because of the result, but due to a listless performance where Celtic looked to all and sundry like the team who were more committed to the cause. A one-goal margin flattered Rangers and everyone knew it. Such a flat showing can't be repeated at the weekend or the pressure will continue to rachet up on everyone from the players to the boardroom.

Now, most level-headed Rangers fans can accept defeat as part of the game, but a failure to match the basics of effort and application is akin to apostasy. Celtic are a tactically sophisticated side playing impressive passing football, but what they do is not rocket science. Their major strength is not in their inverted full-backs or rotations down the sides but in their collective commitment to graft for each other and do the rudimentary elements of football well. Sadly for Rangers, that's been enough to win the lion's share of Old Firm's in recent years, so peppered have these games been by errors straight out of schools football.

Given the nature of this clash, it's primed for Rangers to meet their great foes head-on and learn what can be gained from matching them at the top end of the pitch. European clubs from Shakhtar to Bodo Glimt have shown Celtic can be cut down to size if you exploit their weaknesses. They can knock the ball about for fun when you stand off them but go man for man and they are less sure-footed. Van Bronckhorst showed that in last season's epic Scottish Cup semi-final win.

The blueprint for the next legendary cup victory can be developed at Parkhead but it will only come to fruition if Rangers are sharply focused on the basics as a foundation to build upon. Blood, sweat, tears and a smattering of stardust will be required. It may be too soon for that last, crucial element, but at the very least they must offer hope for a future where anticipation is front and centre and trepidation is very much banished.