Viaplay Cup final: James Tavernier urges Rangers to be brave on ball vs Celtic
- Planet Sport writer
- 25 February 2023
Rangers captain James Tavernier will use his experience to try to ensure his side show bravery on the ball when they take on Celtic in the Viaplay Cup final at Hampden on Sunday.
Tavernier is looking to lift his third major trophy as Gers skipper.
The 31-year-old captained Rangers to the Premiership title in 2021 and Scottish Cup success in 2022, having also played his part in their 2016 Championship and Challenge Cup triumphs during his first season in Scotland.
The right-back lost the Scottish Cup final against Hibernian in that same season and has also experienced frustrating final defeats against Celtic in the League Cup and against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.
When asked how his experiences could help, Tavernier said: "Obviously it's in the background. You do have experience in these kind of games.
"You have got to let the game settle out because it will be a very fast tempo, as it always is at the start of the game.
"We have got to expect that and when it's required for us to play our football, we have got to have big, broad shoulders and get the ball and play our football.
"I know the boys are more than capable of doing that."
Tavernier was inducted into the Rangers hall of fame last weekend, a feat he never imagined could be possible when Mark Warburton signed him from Wigan in the summer of 2015.
"You never think too far ahead," he said. "This is my eighth season. There are plenty of positives and negatives in that.
"There are obviously regrets where you have not won more trophies than you want to.
"But it's all about what's in the future and what you can impact. This is something we can impact on the weekend.
"We have a chance to win a trophy. We have not won it in a long time and we will be doing everything possible."