Brittle Rangers lose the war and Clement must break nasty habit or risk becoming collateral damage – Keith Jackson

They won the battle but still contrived to lose the war.

Which, in retrospect, sums up the abject state of a Rangers side which is overdue for some serious and permanent dismantling. Because even when Philippe Clement’s players are following the tactical commands of their manager to the letter, they still can’t quite be trusted to win the matches which are there to be won. Where Jurgen Klopp once famously branded his Liverpool side mentality monsters, Clement’s current collection are more like mentality meringues. Brittle, fragile and with a soft centre.

So while they were the better team throughout Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final, the fact that they left Hampden with another second prize means this side’s cycle has come to a fitting end. With another punctured tyre. Let’s begin with some plaudits though because the truth of the matter is the best players on the pitch were all wearing Rangers shirts. From the emergency centre back pairing of Ben Davies and Leon Balogun, who hardly put a foot wrong, the outstanding double act of Mohamed Diomande and Nicolas Raskin in midfield, to Todd Cantwell who stepped up onto the big stage and ran himself into the ground having presumably eaten one shooshburger too many during the week.

All of them were head and shoulders above anything Celtic could muster on a day when it seemed the league celebrations had emptied their tank. But that’s the trouble with this Rangers side. Too often, in the games which define a season, their best just isn’t good enough. Clement, for his part, was also a star performer in the tactical jousting with Brendan Rodgers. Indeed, the Ibrox boss could not have wished for his plan to come together with such emphatic effect.

Having failed to win any of his first