In the words of the players - Rangers' cup win, Clement turnaround, Celtic stumble and title race

Barisic, Cantwell, Dessers and Goldson relive the events of the weekend

Rangers’ metamorphosis from a chaotic shambles in the latter days of Michael Beale’s tenure to become the form team in the country continues at pace as they defeated Aberdeen at Hampden on Sunday to lift the League Cup for the first time since 2011.

Having secured a place in the last 16 of the Europa League and with the opportunity to move top of the league table before the end of the year, there was plenty for Connor Goldson (CG), Todd Cantwell (TC), Cyriel Dessers (CD) and Borna Barisic (BB) to discuss as they paused temporarily from their Viaplay Cup celebrations to chew over the last few months.

On the cup win

Rangers' Todd Cantwell and Cyriel Dessers celebrate with their medals.

BB: “It was a fantastic moment for me and for the team. I am very happy that we brought this trophy home to our club. In my six seasons as a Rangers player I have not won this trophy so I am very happy that we have managed to do that.”

TC: “It was so important to win the League Cup and be able to give that to the fans. They deserved that. They’ve not had an easy time so that was for them.”

On yet another clutch moment from James Tavernier

CG: “He won’t be appreciated until he leaves this club. Yes, he gets criticised, he’s the captain of the team, and when the team doesn’t do well the weight of that falls on his shoulders. But at the same time he’s got real balls, put it that way.”

Connor Goldson shows his joy at winning the Viaplay Cup.

BB: “I think he deserves a lot of credit. He is always giving 100 percent which is very important for a captain. We can always look to him as a good example to everyone.”

On the turnaround under manager Phillipe Clement

CG: “I'm not going to sit here and disrespect any former manager but we were in a bad place. Confidence was low and when you lose football games that always happens. I feel there's a lot of pressure from our fans because we weren't performing week to week. But the new boss has come in and given us belief again. And when you win games of football, confidence grows. You see people come out of their shell and really start to impose themselves on the group. That's what the new gaffer has done from the very first day he came in. He came into a squad that had low confidence. I don't think we trusted each other as a group. But he said to us in the dressing room at Hampden that in the space of nine weeks, he's never seen a change like it.”

TC: “There are no miracles. It’s been a slight shift in terms of momentum and football can spin really quickly – good or bad. It’s a good changing room with good lads in there. We have always believed in ourselves.”

BB: “In two months we have travelled so far and that is a very good thing. It has happened very fast but I think everyone can see now that we are a team on the pitch. We have faith in the manager and he has faith in us and for now everything is perfect.”

On Rangers’ prospects in chasing down a quadruple

TC: “We need to use it as a morale booster and move forward. You want winning to become a habit. One of the big things about coming to Rangers was the amount of opportunities you get to win things.”

CG: “I feel we're in a good place, the group is confident and this can be a big moment for the new players, to see what it means to win at this football club and to push them even more.”

BB: “We have grown so fast but there is still space to grow even more. We just need to keep going and things will come for us. But we will just look at the next game right now and only the next game. That’s the way we are going to have success.”

On the title race as Celtic stumble to Hearts

CG: “I didn’t hear one person say anything about [that result] on Sunday morning before the final. Don’t get me wrong, we all knew it had happened but I didn’t hear anyone mention it. The focus was on Sunday, we were in the final of a different competition and we had to go and win that.”

On personal achievement after adversity

TC (on returning to play in the final after missing the Real Betis game due to a family matter): “It was tough. It was a reasonably late call if I am honest. But I felt like I could contribute. I had a good conversation with the manager and he felt that if I felt my mind was right then I should play. It worked out alright.”

CD: “To be here – after a few rocky months – felt amazing. I had a similar situation at Feyenoord when we got to October or November and there were some rumours around me. At the end of the season we got to the Europa Conference Final and I was top scorer.

“I am not saying the same will happen this season but I need to stay calm and trust my qualities. I need to keep the confidence up and things like this help me and make the team stronger. There is a reason Rangers bought me and these qualities have not gone.”