Hearts vs Rangers – LIVE updates

Philippe Clement has already warned the missus he’s going to have to put in some overtime this summer. But the Ibrox boss admits it’s not just extra hours that are required for his team to turn the clock back on Celtic.

Plans for a Euros spying trip have been shelved as the big Belgian begins yet another Rangers rebuild. Clement does have some downtime with his better half in the diary but it will be a staycation on Scottish soil just in case he needs to make a sharp dash home to get deals done. But as well as working harder this summer, the Gers gaffer reckons he and the Light Blues board are going to have to shop smarter too if they want to make sure their money goes as far as Celtic’s.

Brendan Rodgers has another £60million burning a hole in his pocket now he’s wrapped up this year’s title and booked up for a Champions League odyssey next year. And Clement is working under the assumption this is the year that the Parkhead powers finally let the Rodgers loose with the cheque book having tested the patience of their support yet again with their frugal spending policy.

I will not have time for the Euros. That was the plan but I think with the job we have to do the next couple of weeks, it will not be possible to go. I’ll have to watch on TV. I’m going to make a tour here with my wife in Scotland so I’m near by. But I’m going to be on the phone all the time with the computer. But she’s used to that. I’ve warned her already. We know we have less money than our competition because they have more money and they have Champions League money now. So we need to be more inventive, the recruitment needs to be more inventive. If your opponent has more money and can spend more you have to work better. That needs to be the challenge to make things better. We have to find better players for cheaper prices. It’s not always the player that costs more who at the end has the highest value. It’s challenging. The bigger the pool is where you can take the best fish out.

Our pool is smaller, so you have to be sharper. But it’s not just for that department, it’s for everything. It’s for the technical staff, the medical staff, the performance staff, for recruitment. It’s for everybody in the building. We need to work better, all of us, to make the next steps.

Switzerland boss Murat Yakin has handed a shock snub to former Rangers striker Cedric Itten for the Euros after bizarrely claiming the 27-year-old was too old.

And he’s put his faith in two strikers instead – Monaco’s Breel Embolo who looks set to miss the match against Scotland through injury – and Joel Monteiro, who has yet to receive his Swiss passport to play in the Finals.

Itten scored a double for Young Boys that won the club the Swiss title last week to take his tally for the season to 13 goals. But the ex-Ibrox striker, who spent a year at Rangers, wasn’t included in Yakin’s huge 38-man squad.

With Cedric Itten, I just felt we wanted younger players than him to be in the squad for the tournament. Other players in his position have performed well internationally for us.

The Swiss – who play Scotland in the second game of the tournament in Cologne – have included star man Embolo, even though Yakin admitted the striker only has a 30 per cent chance of making it after suffering a torn thigh muscle. And he’s also pinned his hopes on Itten’s teammate at Young Boys, Monteiro, who has still yet to receive clearance to play after only just declaring for the Swiss.

For me, Embolo is the only striker in the national team who meets the highest international standards. He is indispensable. Even though we are running out of time and the timing is tight, I am very confident and optimistic.

Barry Ferguson, writing in his latest column for Record Sport, admitted watching Celtic wrap up three-in-a-row was torture and that the Rangers players must use the pain as fuel for the Scottish Cup final.

There was no shortage of options to feed my football fix on Wednesday night but the TV was only set for one game – Celtic at Kilmarnock. No matter how painful, how torturous I knew it was going to be.

And believe me the last day has been excruciating for everyone connected to Rangers after Celtic secured the title. But you know what? I made myself sit through it all. I took in every minute of the game AND the celebrations.

With a clenched jaw and furrowed brow I sat and watched the Celtic players dancing, singing and celebrating with their fans – and refused to turn off. Why? Because this has to be the driving force now. If I was still pulling on a Rangers top then those scenes would be the motivation for me to do everything in my power to stop Celtic at the next possible opportunity.

And that just so happens to be the Scottish Cup Final in eight days’ time. Brilliant. What a chance to have the last say on the season and be the ultimate party poopers. Okay it’s not the big one that everyone wanted, the league title.

Rangers are facing a major rebuild, but should they cash in on some of their top performers to pay for it?

Scott Burns: Jack Butland is one and Rangers could maybe get their money back on Cyriel Dessers but I don’t see too many others, unless James Tavernier and Connor Goldson get offers from Saudi Arabia.

Andy Newport:Philippe Clement has already made clear to the Ibrox board Jack Butland cannot be sold at any cost but given there’s not much else available to raise cash he might just have to rethink that one if a silly offer comes in. Gers desperately need the funds for a significant rebuild.

Michael Gannon: Rangers need to keep their best players like Butland – not flog them. It won’t be easy for Clement to assemble a new look side with Celtic’s financial advantage, but this is where Nils Koppen will earn his corn. Gers will need unearth top class bargains.

The Record Sport team sat down earlier this week to discuss all the big talking points from Ibrox in the latest edition of the Record Rangers podcast.

It’s a day that could have been so different for Rangers but instead it’s a familiar end to the league season for the fans travelling across the M8.