There’s no question a tonne rides on Sunday. It’s huge. It’s the biggest Old Firm match… since the last one. But flippancy aside, this one is for a trophy final, and to stop them winning the treble.

The problem is there is absolutely no evidence Rangers are capable of winning it.

As things currently stand, this Old Firm reminds us of the dark times, when we used to face Celtic post-2012 and pre-55, when we just could not win for love nor money, amassing just that one semi-final win via penalties under Warburton in 2016 when we were still in the Championship, albeit promoted.

But Celtic back then were absolutely terrible, truly abysmal, under Ronny Deila who was completely out of his depth at that club. They still won titles but Aberdeen actually pushed them harder than any non-Old Firm club has any right to in the SPL.

Today? Even if their present manager is not the Pep Guardiola the Scottish press would like you to believe, he is one thing ours isn’t – a winner. And we mean from before his time in Glasgow.

Add to that an already decent squad, which he’s used big cash to make a lot better, and they’re currently streaks ahead of Rangers.

So forgive us for not having an iota of hope with a Rangers manager who has now hijacked every single Old Firm match we’ve had – in varying levels. Two of the fails were definitely on him, while the recent loss was still a lot of his responsibility too.

We are supporters – we want to win this match more than anything. Doing so has gargantuan implications for us, for Celtic, and for the Scottish game in general.

But we see no light at the end of the tunnel as things presently stand.

Yes, there could be improvement in the summer with new CEO James Bisgrove and new chairman John Bennett, but that’s a couple of months away. In the here and now, what fail is Ben Davies going to find against Kyogo? What ‘caught out of position’ will Tav commit? What statue will McGregor be this time when shots come flying in?

We’re Rangers supporters but we’re also realistic with what we’ve seen this year, this calendar year. And the loss to Aberdeen compounded matters badly and exposed the reality of where we are.

Beale has the measure of the bulk of the SPL, but when it comes to the big tough matches he’s being judged on, he absolutely doesn’t have a clue so far.

And we don’t expect any change this weekend.

Sorry to sound so bleak, and we’ll be dancing in the street if we’re wrong on Sunday.

Please let it be so.