Just a few weeks ago it looked like Rangers were gearing up for a season to remember. Right now, though, it's one that the majority of their fans would rather forget.
Phillipe Clement had inherited a dilapidated team without any belief from Michael Beale, who had dragged them by the hand and maneuvered them into a position where the league title was their gift. When they visited Dingwall and Dens Park over a four-day period, the wheels came off.
The defeat at Celtic Park a few weeks ago, their third in four games against Celtic this season, all but confirmed their fate in the Premier League. A late collapse at Tynecastle on the final day of the league season meant they finished eight points behind their fierce rivals, and now go into Saturday's Scottish Cup final on a minus point.
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But according to a former Ibrox hero, and a man who knows about such things, all is not lost.
The competition, mind you, can always be the main goal. But with the League Cup already tucked away in the Ibrox trophy cabinet, Arthur Numan believes if his old side can add the Scottish Cup on Saturday, this could still be a season Rangers supporters will remember fondly.
If they want to do that, they will have to do something they still have to do this season and beat Celtic. But if they can do that, the Dutchman believes it could not only give their fans some help for the summer, but it could also push them to bigger and better things next season, much like the cup double his team won for them in 2002 did.
And their opponents that day in Hampden? Celtic of course.
"When I first signed here in 1998 we won a treble and then a double," Numan said.
"But then Martin O'Neill came in and started winning big. So we've been slaughtered of heroes. We were under pressure because it's all about winning trophies.
"Alex McLeish took over the lead halfway through the season, but we were eleven points behind. I thought we couldn't win the league anymore, so we have to concentrate on winning the League Cup and then the Scottish Cup. That's why the Scottish Cup is so important this year.
"OK Rangers haven't won the league but they can still win a double and that makes it special.
"What will that mean for my team going into the next season? Faith, trust. When we won the League Cup that season, the biggest moment came in the semi-final with that screamer from Bert Konterman.
"I think that was the main goal of my whole five years here because that changed everything. You saw the faith return and the following season we won a treble.
"For this team, they need to focus on something similar now. I'm sure Clement will get the whole team together and say, 'Okay guys, this is the last game. We have to go for it.'
"Clement has done a very good job in restoring confidence to the players. They start to believe in it again. Until the 3-3 game at Ibrox, then we gave it away within a week.
"But they have to put the league behind them now. All the focus has to be on this game. It's a chance to make history. It will be special, in front of a great crowd in Hampden. As a player on the park, you look around and thinks: 'this is what it's all about'.
"When you lift the trophy, you become a hero."
It wasn't all plain sailing for Rangers on May 22, as they fell behind twice the day before before winning by three goals to two in the final minute, and suffered a fire alarm that disrupted their pre-match preparations on the eve. of the game.
"We were at the Crowne Plaza," Numan said.
"It was the middle of the night when the alarm went off. You thought, 'what's happening?' "I think it turned out to be the best preparation for us because it kept us on our toes. We were all standing outside the hotel in our underwear, freezing.
"I don't know what causes it. Someone may have disturbed the smoke detector. But it was so strange. One minute you're preparing for a cup final, and then suddenly the alarm goes off at four in the morning and you're standing outside. But we still won, because it kept us on our toes!
"That cup final was so special. It became 1-1, then 2-2 and then that great goal from Peter (Lovenkrands)."
However, lacking the mental fortitude to deal with such moments of adversity is a burden that lies at the feet of the current Rangers squad, and Numan says the players must find strength within themselves if they are to have any hope of To upset Celtic. Saturday.
"Of course winning big games like this comes down to mentality," he said.
"When you're sitting there in the dressing room you have to be focused on the fact that you can win a trophy because that's what the game is about.
"People remember the teams that do that. When I come back I still get people saying, 'Oh wow, what about that finale or that one.' They are here in spirit.
"For this team, a few weeks ago, before the 3-3 at Ibrox, everyone thought they might win a treble. Since then the results haven't been that good, but you have to draw a line under that, forget about it and concentrate on Saturday's match.
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"I'm sure Clement will have spoken to the team about that. He must have told them that they cannot change what happened. This is the last game of the season, Hampden Park, a cup final against your arch rivals. It's special.
"From the moment they come out for the warm-up, they will feel that atmosphere. Phew, I still think about it now and get that rush. From the first moment the referee whistles, 90 minutes fly by.
"They have to believe in themselves. Yes, they didn't win the league, but the cup final is still to come and we have to focus on that.
"Hopefully they will go to each other in the dressing room before kick-off and set themselves on fire."
*Arthur Numan speaking at a Scottish Gas media event. Scottish Gas is the proud partner of the Men's Scottish Cup.
