THE big question on Wednesday night was where and when the Betfred Cup semi-finals between Rangers and Aberdeen and Celtic and Hearts will be held.

But the only thing that really matters for Steven Gerrard is going all the way and winning the competition this season. That would be huge for him and for the club.

Celtic hold all the trophies in Scotland just now so if you could take one off them at the first opportunity, what a start that is for you. It ends their Treble hopes and gives you a lift for the rest of the season.

The fans are well up for it and they are expecting big things this season. It is up to Steven and the players to deliver and it would have been pleasing for the manager to see the strength and depth he has against Ayr United.

Glenn Middleton came in and was terrific but you had Graham Dorrans and Jordan Rossiter in there, while Joe Worrall and Eros Grezda got game time as well.

Steven knows he can count on his players and he will be confident they can go all the way and clinch the Betfred Cup this season. It would be massive to do it at this stage of Gerrard’s reign.

It is seven years since Rangers last lifted major silverware in Scotland and this is a great opportunity.

Steven wants to win everything. That is just in his nature and he loves winning trophies so hopefully Rangers can get into the final and we will have a go at finally lifting the cup again.

Before we can think about that, of course, we need to beat Aberdeen and we will see what happens in the other game between Celtic and Hearts.

The decision has been made that both matches will be played at Hampden and, from a Rangers point of view, I am pleased that our match will kick-off at lunchtime.

I'm not so sure Brendan Rodgers and Craig Levein will be pleased about being on the pitch second because there is only so much you can do in a short space of time to repair the park and get it ready.

It will take a bit of work from the ground staff to get the pitch playable again.

Rangers and Aberdeen will certainly be happier because it will be pristine when they play. I am sure it will be in as best a state possible for the second one.

Both matches had to be on the television and the SPFL say they were contractually obliged to take both of them to Hampden. 

You had to have as much time as possible between the games to allow the supporters to leave and arrive at the stadium safely and it will be a huge police operation that will need to be put in place.

That might lead to problems but all parties must be comfortable with the arrangements that will be put in place and hopefully the day passes of smoothly.

When you get to this stage of a competition, you are never going to get an easy draw. But I think the Rangers fans will be satisfied enough that it is Aberdeen.

I watched their game against Hibernian the other night and I thought they were lucky to get through to be honest. Hibs were terrific and I was glad they went out because they are a dangerous side that are playing well just now.

Aberdeen haven’t really got going this season but, it will still be a hard, hard game.

It is fine saying Rangers are a far different side than they have been for the last couple of years but they have to win something to prove it.

Once Steven gets a winner’s medal in his pocket, then we can say Rangers are going places once again.

This is a great chance to get to a final but Rangers won’t take anything for granted and they can’t afford to because Aberdeen know what it takes to get to finals at Hampden.

A lot of our players don’t have that experience but they have played in the Old Firm games and done well in Europe so I would be confident that they can handle a big semi-final and get to within 90 minutes of a bit of silverware.