December to August; not quite the length of that we were hoping for as League Cup champions, but better to have reigned and lost than never to have reigned at all.
Sunday's visit to Govan posed a real test for Craig McLeish and his developing side. The dramatic shift from pragmatic nuisances to free-flowing ball players has navigated lower-league opposition, a slightly bruised Falkirk and newly-promoted St Johnstone thus far - and looked mostly effective while doing so.
Do you double down on this approach against a toiling Rangers side? Or, as in times gone by, do you bow to more cautious instincts in front of 50,000 and their richly-assembled charges?
At the weekend, this Trojan panda filled with an equal share of possession and playing out from the back was rolled up to the Ibrox gates and left for the Premiership's good-honest-fitba-in-chief Derek McInnes to drag inside. Ninety dramatic minutes and five conceded goals later, the Saints were out and Ibrox remained unsacked.
To try to paint this performance as even partially positive is futile. Accusations of naivety or more drastic criticism, however, are a little short-sighted.

#dramatic #govan

Amid a four-game winless start to Rangers' season, the arrival of James Penrice came with little fanfare.
While rival fans attempted to poke fun at the Ibrox club for signing another former Hearts player, supporters of the Govan side were left somewhat underwhelmed.
However, with first-choice left-back Tuur Rommens out injured, Penrice showed 24 hours later that he can be a vital addition for manager Derek McInnes in the coming weeks by ******* isting and scoring on his debut against St Mirren.
"That was probably a dream debut," the boyhood Rangers fan told former Hearts team-mate Andy Halliday on Premier Sports.
"It's been a mental week. I don't think it gets better than that."

#debut #amid #govan

Lawrence Shankland says being named Rangers captain has exceeded the dream he had of playing for his boyhood team.
The 30-year-old striker only joined the club two months ago from Hearts, where he also wore the armband and scored 88 goals in 171 games.
The Scotland forward succeeds previous long-serving captain James Tavernier, who led the Ibrox side to a Europa League final and won the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and League Cup during his 11 years in Govan.
The news comes two days before Derek McInnes' side starts their league campaign at Dundee United on Friday (20:00 BST).
"As a lifelong supporter, it was a dream to be here in the first place, but to get the opportunity to captain the club is a huge honour," Shankland said.

#dream #lawrence

It’s been eight years, and Ivan Njegovan can still hear the sirens.
Njegovan was with his family in his hometown of Otocac, Croatia, during the summer of 2018, huddled around the television watching Croatia battle France in the World Cup final. Croatia fell 4-2, but only a few minutes passed before the noise picked up.
“We were so sad, but after 5-10 minutes, you hear all the sirens of, like, fire trucks,” Njegovan said. “There was a whole parade around the town. It was crazy.”
For a country fiercely proud of its soccer team, the run to the final had been exhilarating even if the final result wasn’t what Njegovan’s countrymen had hoped for.
Now he’s getting to enjoy the experience of World Cup soccer in person. Alongside Ohio State teammate and fellow Croatian center Andrija Jelavic, he was in the stands to see his home country take down Ghana in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, solidifying its spot in the knockout round.