Rangers ace maintains lessons have been learned from Celtic collapse ahead of Scottish Cup 'do-or-die' tie
The Ibrox summer signing believes Sunday’s Old Firm will be the biggest cup game he’ll ever be involved in.
Rangers defender Tuur Rommens is encouraging his side to keep at it for 90 minutes in Sunday’s Old Firm Scottish Cup quarter final.
In last weekend’s Premiership battle between the sides, The Light Blues were dominant in the first half and went into the break with a two goal cushion after Youssef Chermiti bagged a brace. However, the visitors came back with a vengeance in the second half as Rangers looked fatigued and out of ideas as Kieran Tierney and Reo Hatate levelled up the match.
The second half has reignited the age-old doubts about Rangers’ mentality in the big games, however Rommens ensured his side have learned their lessons heading into Sunday, in a match both sides can ill-afford to lose. Speaking via the Daily Record, the Belgain hopes they take their chance in the upcoming clash and keep their performance levels up for longer than 50 minutes.
Rommens ready for ‘do-or-die’ Celtic bout
He said: “This is a do-or-die game but every game in the cup is like that. “If you lose you’re out, if you win you go through. But especially if you play against Celtic, it’s a little bit different because of the rivalry. So this is the biggest cup game I’ll ever play in. I think the squad is strong enough. We have great players and the mentality is there to win this game.
“I had a chance after a deflection from Ryan Naderi and I just had to maybe get more power to get it inside the goal. “Of course, this is an opportunity to put things right. We were very disappointed last Sunday in the few days after, we were still disappointed.
“But you have to change your motivation to go again on Sunday and win this game. Your first Old Firm game is special but every Old Firm is special, especially a cup one. So maybe that will help us on Sunday that the new players have now experienced it.”
The Belgian bombshell
Signing for Westerlo in the Belgian Pro League for around £3.5 million, there was an air of excitement around Ibrox when Rommens signed, but the 23-year old has exceeded expectations so far and is slowly but surely making the left back position his own.
When Danny Rohl signed him in January, it looked as if it was going to be a battle between Rommens and young Jayden Meghoma, who had perhaps been too heavily relied upon during the first half of the season. However, after just five Rangers appearances Rommens has already gained first choice status.
Having captained the Belgian National Team at Under 21 level, Rommens has an ideal mix of future potential and leadership qualities as he begins his Rangers career. On the pitch, his capabilities both going forward and in defence could prove invaluable to The Light Blues in the midst of the title race.