Scottish Football / John Girvan / 29 May 2009 / Leave a comment

After sealing the title last weekend Rangers will be in no mood to surrender the prized double, says John Girvan.

Barry Ferguson could return to the Rangers line up for Saturday's 123rd Homecoming Scottish Cup Final.

The deposed skipper has not started a game since the Scotland debacle in March but he has recovered from a recent injury and was used as a second half substitute in Rangers' last two outings. Further to this, Maurice Edu and Pedro Mendes both picked up thigh injuries during Sundays 3-0 win at Tannadice and suddenly the door that was rammed shut just a few weeks ago could be thrown wide open.

Falkirk meet the newly crowned SPL Champions for the 15th time in this competition. Their first Scottish Cup encounter was way back in 1883 with The Bairns' only triumphs coming in 1913 and a replay win in 1927. Both sides are on a high after last weekend with Falkirk mightily relieved at retaining their SPL status whilst Rangers emphatically ended a four year title drought.

The final could be a fairytale swansong for John Hughes. He has been on the receiving end of some harsh criticism this season and has made no secret of his desire to manage in England one day. A serious lack of transfer funds available to bolster the squad could also force the manager's hand here. As many as 14 players are out of contract, including many first team regulars, with only half of them being retained for next years campaign.

Going forward, the job looks unenviable, and signing off in style with a win over Rangers would set Big Yogi up nicely for his next challenge. In terms of the players this will perhaps be their last chance for a while to emulate the club's only previous success in 1957. Hughes will make few changes from Inverness and the back four picks itself with Steven Pressley back from suspension to slot in beside Darren Barr with Tam Scobbie and Jackie McNamara the full-backs.

Neil McCann returning to midfield would add yet even more experience to the starting 11 but the youngsters in the squad shouldn't be too fazed by Hampden as it's their third visit here this season. The aim for Falkirk, ([6.8] to lift the trophy) is quite clear; they will be setting out to keep it tight, play to their best abilities and hope the holders have an off day.

This will be Rangers' 50th appearance in the final and they are just [1.16] to lift a 33rd Scottish Cup that would make up 'the double'. Interestingly it could also put the light blues just one behind Celtic's haul of 34 triumphs. Domestically it's the only trophy Rangers have won less than their city rivals so you would imagine this fact has been pointed out to the players and perhaps used as an added incentive.

Rangers put in a phenomenal display last Sunday and under severe pressure as well. If they reach the same level on Saturday then the Cup stays at Ibrox, no question about that. However, given the circumstances I think it's virtually impossible for a repeat performance but Rangers have too much in the locker for Falkirk, and after the hard work they put in to bring the title back to Ibrox it's hard to see them letting anything take the shine off this.

In terms of the match odds Rangers kick-off strong favourites at just [1.31] with Falkirk being matched at [13.0] and the draw trading at [5.9]. Rangers finished 48 points ahead of their opponents and when you are looking for value in such an encounter then that's where the Asian handicap market comes in.

In many ways this is a loyalty bet where if you are a Falkirk fan you say "Ok, Rangers might win, but only by the odd goal". In this instance 'Falkirk +1.5 goals' is the bet for you where as long as Rangers don't win by two goals or more you have a pay-out at around [2.1]. And, similarly double hungry bears who fancy Rangers to do it in style should back 'Rangers -1.5 goals' at around [1.9] where any Rangers win by 2 goals or more covers the champagne.

The unders/overs market is often rather precarious when it comes to cup finals and there is an even split over the last 10 years in the Scottish Cup. On this evidence under 2.5 goals at [2.24] has an edge, but in Rangers' 10 appearances since 1992 eight have fallen in the overs category. My own preference therefore is to back over 2.5 goals at [1.79] with a saver on a 2-0 Correct Score at [6.6].