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UK football1 Nov 2026

Rangers meet Hibernian in a final. Can Derek McInnes win a first trophy at Rangers?

Rangers meet Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup final on 13 December. Manager Derek McInnes has not yet won a trophy at the club.

4 min read

What happened

This needs to be our norm year in year out, that we arrive at Hampden and we put ourselves in a position to lift silverware.

Rangers beat Aberdeen 1-0 on to reach the final of the Scottish League Cup, now called the Premier Sports Cup. Ryan Naderi scored after 83 minutes at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Rangers had 74% of the ball and 25 shots, but only five were on target.

On Hibernian beat Hearts 2-1 in the other semi-final, also at Hampden. Hibernian are bottom of the Scottish Premiership after 11 games, with two wins. Rangers are second. Hibernian last won this cup in 2007.

Manager Derek McInnes can win his first big trophy at Rangers at his first try. Since 2012 Rangers have won only three trophies. McInnes said reaching finals “needs to be our norm year in year out”, and that “to only have five shots on target isn’t good enough”.

Rangers are unbeaten in 11 games and kept seven clean sheets in that run. On they drew 2-2 with Hearts. McInnes won this cup once before, with Aberdeen in 2014.

Derek McInnes’ men will face either Heart of Midlothian or Hibernian - who meet on Sunday afternoon - in the final on Sunday .

SPFL, Rangers reach Premier Sports Cup Final,

The final is at Hampden on Sunday . The kick-off time is not set yet.

Sources: BBC (2, 3), The Guardian (2, 3), SPFL, BBC

The Pattern

We looked for cases where Rangers or Celtic played a club from outside the two in the Scottish League Cup final, with a manager who had not yet won a trophy at the club and a team that were not champions the season before. We found seven such finals from 1994 to 2023. Rangers or Celtic won six of them, all inside 90 minutes. The one loss was Celtic against Raith Rovers in 1994, on penalties. (BBC Sport; The Guardian)

6 of 7
Six of seven times Rangers or Celtic played a smaller club in the League Cup final with a manager chasing a first trophy at the club, they won, and once they lost on penalties.
2023 Rangers v Aberdeenheld
: Philippe Clement had been at Rangers for two months. Rangers beat Aberdeen 1-0 at Hampden with a goal from James Tavernier. It was his first trophy at the club.
2021 Celtic v Hibernianheld
: Celtic, who lost the league title to Rangers that March, played Hibernian at Hampden. Hibernian scored first. Celtic won 2-1, and Ange Postecoglou won his first trophy at his first try.
Show the other 5 cases
2006 Celtic v Dunfermlineheld
: Celtic, under Gordon Strachan, played Dunfermline in the final. Celtic won 3-0. It was the first trophy of Strachan’s career as a manager.
2002 Rangers v Ayr Unitedheld
: Rangers under Alex McLeish had gone 22 months without a trophy. They played Ayr United, a second-tier club, at Hampden and won 4-0. It was McLeish’s first trophy at Rangers.
2001 Celtic v Kilmarnockheld
: Celtic, in Martin O’Neill’s first season, played Kilmarnock at Hampden. Celtic had a player sent off after 60 minutes and still won 3-0.
1997 Celtic v Dundee Unitedheld
: Celtic had won one trophy in that decade. They played Dundee United at Ibrox and won 3-0. It was the first trophy for manager Wim Jansen.
1994 Celtic v Raith Roversnot held
: Celtic had gone five years without a major trophy, and manager Tommy Burns was under pressure. They played Raith Rovers, a second-tier club. It was 2-2 after extra time, and Raith won on penalties.

The Read

The past points to a Rangers win. Rangers or Celtic won six of the seven finals, and each of those six was over inside 90 minutes. In five of them the bigger club let in no goal. Hibernian themselves lost this final to Celtic in 2021, 2-1, after scoring first.

There are reasons for doubt. All seven finals came from one cup, and every bigger club was Rangers or Celtic. The last two wins, in 2021 and 2023, were by one goal. In Celtic lost this final 1-3 to St Mirren, though they were champions the season before. Hibernian have just beaten Hearts, the third club in the league, and Rangers drew 2-2 with Hearts three days before their semi-final.

Sources: The Guardian (2, 3), BBC (2)

Disclaimer

Hunch works only from sources that are publicly available, and publishes on the basis of analysis of that material. We do not form an editorial opinion or take sides, we give a simpler and wider view of news that already exists. If information in a source we used was inaccurate, distorted, or later disputed but had already entered our analysis, Hunch accepts no liability for that. Predictions are not advice. Phase 1 markets use Hunch Points, not money.

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