Connor Goldson and Rangers determined to topple Celtic

Ange Postecoglou inflicted a first defeat on Michael Beale as manager of Ibrox when the Light Blues lost to the Scottish champions at the Hampden Park spectacle in February.

Rangers take on Celtic again this weekend in the Scottish Premier League before a semi-final Scottish Cup showdown between the two at the end of the month.

Another league game then takes place after the split and Goldson is determined to end the season on positives, hoping it will bring silver and confidence to the Ibrox dressing room.

He explained: “I don’t think we showed our best face in the cup final and lost the football game. It was a tremendous football game for the club and for our season and we lost it.

“But you have to go forward and we get a chance to play again. There’s a lot of football to play, but realistically we’ve got three old firms in the next few months or six weeks.

“We have three chances to win big football games for this club, this team and our fans to build our confidence and go into next season on a high.

“First is the league game, then the Scottish Cup semi-finals and then the league again.”

Referring to the low error rate at a club the size of Rangers, Goldson continued, “It works both ways. There were football games this season that we won and I didn’t enjoy it at all.

“There were football games like the 4-1 win at Hibs and I scored an own goal but I enjoyed the game because of the way the team played. It felt like we were back to our best times.

“Then there was the Ross County game at home, 2-1, and you end up faltering. I think we should be so much better as a team and we should be more consistent. It’s tough.

“Celtic had last-minute winners but when you’re at the top of the league you take anything for three points. We’re behind and we need to start playing better regularly to keep that run going for as long as possible.”

The season was difficult for Goldson personally as a managerial change coupled with injury woes led to an overwhelming sense of frustration.

Still, the Englishman thinks Rangers are moving in the right direction under Michael Beale and he hopes the club’s recent form can continue over the summer before the start of next season.

He said: “It was difficult in every way. We had a managerial change during the season that has been on the way for a number of years now. They want a bit of consistency and hopefully we have that now.

“Then there was the injury and when I was injured we lost a lot of points and when I came back we lost a cup final. So it was probably the most frustrating thing I’ve had so far.

“We try to work every day to get better. It is a long way. We win a lot of games and maybe we’re too hard on ourselves.

“Some games we win we scratch, but it’s probably one of the best runs we’ve had. It’s a difficult question. Maybe we’re being too hard on ourselves, but we know the level we can reach over the years and we come back to that one week, then we’re a little off the next. It’s frustrating for everyone.

“If we go back to when we lost points earlier in the season, we had a lot of injuries and the team was a mess. Since we’ve had a consistent team and roster, we’ve had a good run.

“We all had myself, Ben Davies, John Souttar and Fil Helander injured at the start of the season. We had a difficult period and came away nine points down. We’re still here now, thanks to Celtic.

“They win football games, but we will not stop. We’ll keep trying to win as many games as we can and see where that takes us.”

Goldson joins captain James Tavernier, Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield, John Lundstram and Ryan Jack as part of a senior management team at Ibrox who are trusted to provide feedback to manager Beale.

The defender is enjoying the added responsibility and believes he has a big role to play this summer as recruitment is high on the club’s agenda.

He added: “One of the main things the gaffer talked about was the way we welcome players and want a good group.

“Not that it wasn’t a good group, but he wanted to bring the group even closer together.

“He spoke to me about Todd Cantwell coming in and asked what I thought and if I knew him from the outside. I didn’t know him but we talked about the talent he has and what’s happened over the last few years and he came in and blasted it. He was brilliant and completely different as a person than I expected.

“In that sense, you can do some things right and some things wrong. The manager just wants his group to be as together and as strong as possible. So when you go into tough games you know how to stick together and get results.