I was at Fir Park on Saturday to watch my old team Motherwell take Aberdeen apart deservedly by three goals to nil, hardly the ideal preparation for Derek McInnes’s men for the Betfred Cup Final.

I couldn’t help but think back to the semi-final they won against Rangers, and I would bet that Steven Gerrard and the Rangers players might be thinking about what an opportunity they have missed when the final kicks off on Sunday.

The lesson for Rangers is that they have to approach every game, whether that be a league match, a semi-final or a final, with the attitude that they walk off the pitch with no regrets. That’s something I drilled into myself throughout my career, and it served me well.

Glasgow Times:
Lee McCulloch

They have the league game against Hearts to distract them, but there is no doubt that missing out on the final was not just a ‘could have been’ moment, but a ‘should have been’ moment.

They have to use the pain that will undoubtedly bring them to fire them up for the next time they are presented with such a fantastic opportunity, and make sure that they don’t miss out on the big occasion again through any fault of their own.

Unfortunately, they can’t say that this time around.