"I expect..." - James Tavernier addresses Rangers future and Danny Rohl selection as he sets points target

Left out of the starting XI once again, the 34-year-old didn’t make an appearance until extra-time, but was the first to front up after Rangers failed to break down a depleted Celtic side over 120 minutes of football. Losing 4-2 on penalties, it was Tavernier who missed the crucial opening spot kick.

A reliable lieutenant for over a decade, Tavernier has achieved so much during his time at Rangers. However, his crestfallen expression was one of a man who knows his legacy will be judged solely on how much silverware he places in the club’s trophy room. Six points behind league leaders Hearts in the league table and now out of the Scottish Cup, the weight of his shoot-out miss clearly lay heavy on his hunched shoulders.

“I've got to put my penalty away,” said the disappointed Rangers captain. “I expect myself to set a standard in a penalty shootout. In a game like that, where I felt we were dominant throughout the game, I think it was like 24 shots that we had compared to their one, which was off-target. We've always got to be clinical in these games. I've said it in the past that games are always defined by clinical moments, and that was obviously lacking today.

“The boys will bounce back from this, I'm sure. You want to win these games, and we did everything but score a goal in this game. We'll look back on it, we'll learn from it. We're going to hold conversations in the dressing room in private. But our mindset is, as a club, that we're trying to go all the way to the end of the season, to try and get maximum points. See where that takes us. So, that's our aim.”

With Dujon Sterling preferred at right-back for the third successive Old Firm derby, it feels like the experienced skipper’s time in Glasgow is slowly fading. Starting just one of the club’s last four games, head coach Danny Rohl recently insisted the club will “come to a point” where they make a decision on Tavernier's future. However, his Rangers future has become increasingly perilous.

Asked if he felt he was fighting for his future, Tavernier admitted: “I'm just going to give it all what I've normally done every season, and see where it takes us. “I obviously want to play,” added Tavernier. “But the manager holds the cards to all of it and what team he selects, and you've just got to be fully behind the team of whatever team he selects. You've just got to keep working hard. It's down to the manager, who and what he selects, and you've got to respect that.

“That's the best I possibly can do for myself. The team are working continuously hard, and we'd like to see silverware at the end of the season, but it's game by game, the old cliche, but it is game by game, and we obviously have to take those maximum points.”

Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.