Michael Beale's Rangers vs Celtic Viaplay Cup Final plan

Allan McGregor’s goal came under no significant spell of pressure and Kemar Roofe’s appearance from the bench catalysed a two, then three, goal cushion.

James Tavernier scored twice, including a free-kick fired right into the top corner, and Michael Beale continued his unbeaten start to life at Ibrox. That’s now 13 wins from a possible 14.

“I've been here a lot and there are not too many days I've come away so happy as I am today,” he said after the game.

“You can see that we have got a number of players missing so I am delighted to get out of here with the result - and obviously 3-0 was quite emphatic in the end.”

John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and, most importantly, Malik Tillman were all absent due to injury ahead of this weekend’s Old Firm cup final.

“They are big doubts (for next week) because they were not available,” Beale said.

“Malik has a problem with his hamstring, Jacko with his calf and obviously John with his ankle. I'm optimistic to think those plus maybe Scott Arfield will return to training at the backend of the week but it will be touch and go.”

Saturday’s team was, therefore, the most likely cohort that will start at Hampden if the injured trio don’t recover in time for Sunday’s game. 

“We came here with a bit of a patched-up team in some ways although the starting 11 was very good,” the manager continued.

“What you saw today might be what we have and I was delighted with what I got today.”

Beale’s starting 11, and the roles fulfilled in the absence of the injured trio, provided some interesting details. It was an example not necessarily of the positions Tillman, Lundstram and Jack play, but the roles they fulfil within Beale’s blueprint.

Look at StatsBomb’s pass network from the win on Saturday, charting the average position from which players passed the ball.

Notice the location of Todd Cantwell, deeper than Tavernier and Fashion Sakala on the right and Nico Raskin, playing as the No.6 behind every player aside from Connor Goldson and Ben Davies.

Beale’s set-up differs on either side of the pitch and can help us further understand individual roles. The right and left triangles from the weekend’s team are shown below.

On the right, Tavernier is granted freedom to get forward at points. He’s making more and more runs inside the pitch and on Saturday, regularly picked up positions in the front line. Sakala varies between starting wide and darting in behind.

Tillman, or on Saturday Cantwell, also has positional freedom to ‘go and join in’ when the ball’s in the attacking third. Before that, they're tasked with rotating into the right-back spot to progress play forwards and propping up the base of the triangle.

There’s real fluidity in Rangers’ attacking play at the moment and at times it feels as though there are no set positions. Even if that freedom exists within a very structured system.

Key positions on the pitch need to be occupied by someone and there’s often an attempt to create overloads. That is, getting more men around the ball than the opposition, as Ryan Kent attempts below.

The last trip to Hampden, a 2-1 win against Aberdeen, offered the best example of this right-sided dynamic so far.

The complexion is slightly different on the left. Borna Barisic more exclusively holds the width rather than moving infield, while the left-sided midfielder, often Glen Kamara, provides the base of the triangle. Kamara can also get forwards but is instructed to hold his position more than his teammate fulfilling the same role on the right.

At the top, one of Kent, Alfredo Morelos or, when fielded in a higher role, Cantwell completes the set.

Tillman’s role includes plenty of defensive responsibility as Cantwell demonstrated at the weekend. His pass map from the game, with red indicating success and yellow failure, shows an aforementioned pattern of dropping deep to progress play.

Will Cantwell be thrust into that role, with the defensive responsibility it includes, to complete the right-sided triangle if Tillman doesn’t return for the weekend?

He took the second-most touches in the game (150) and was solid defensively. Winning 75 per cent of his tackles and recovering the ball 10 times.

Meanwhile, Beale has previously compared Raskin and Kamara as very similar players, suggesting they may have to fight it out for a position rather than play together consistently.

“I don’t want to put these two players in competition but he and Glen are going to have a massive tussle to play in a similar role, They can play together, for sure, but they are very similar,” he said when the Belgian arrived.

As Luka Elsner, Raskin’s former manager, told the Rangers Review, the Belgian is not at his best when playing as a “sitting, dictating midfielder” but when given freedom to get forward. He fulfilled that role excellently at the weekend, even if Beale seems to envision him playing more box-to-box in the future. In order to harness his qualities higher up the pitch.

Against Livingston, he recovered the ball more times than any of his teammates (18).

Beale’s comments about a patched-up team speak to the importance of Jack, Lundstram and Tillman. The win in West Lothian showed how he'll cope if the injured contingent don't return in time for Sunday's final.