The Importance of Winning the Co-op Insurance Cup Final

The Old Firm are limbering up for their fourth battle of the season this weekend and both teams will be looking to put on and off field distractions behind them.

For Rangers, the drama has circled around one man’s petulance. Walter Smith got it just about right when he described Kris Boyd as an enigma. He has talent in abundance, but a serious change in attitude is needed if he is ever to fulfill his potential — he isn’t 18 anymore.

I thought perhaps the incident late last year, when he refused to play again under Scotland boss Craig Burley, was a one off. Those sort of incidents can be explained away as simple clashes of personality — it happens.

But after being sent home from Rangers training earlier this week, it is clear Boyd has a questionable attitude, even if boss Walter Smith is renowned for being a prickly character at best.

The striker has since apologised and will be on the squad for Sunday, though it remains to be seen whether he will play any part. Regardless, it is not the ideal preparation for such a big game and could mean the end of Boyd’s Rangers career in the summer.

For Celtic, it is on-field problems they will be looking to recover from. A humiliating Scottish Cup defeat to St Mirren last weekend has contributed to a poor run of form which has seen them win just six out of 12 games in 2009. Gordon Strachan’s men are now just three points ahead of their Old Firm rivals at the top of the SPL. The heart of the problem seems to lie up front with Scott MacDonald, Georgios Samaras and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink all struggling to get goals. A Hampden Park goal glut could set Celtic up for the rest of the campaign.

Despite not carrying the prestige of other competitions, the importance of the Co-op Insurance Cup final to the Old Firm cannot be understated. For Celtic it could be the chance to rediscover form, put the St Mirren defeat behind them and gather the required momentum for a title push. For Rangers, just a chance to concentrate on football would be welcome and if the first trophy of the year can be secured, you never know, two more could follow by May.