Of course it will come as scant consolation that the trophy he paraded 12 months ago is under lock and key across the city.

But there’s a compliment that really must be paid to Philippe Clement in any case, now that the acrid smoke has cleared from the air above Hampden Park on Glasgow’s south side. Yes, the Rangers boss will be licking his wounds and the pain is likely to remain for some time. This must have felt like agony. And yet even though it ended in abject misery and suffering for the Belgian boss and his players, in time they might look back upon this day as their very own redemption derby.

On a personal level, Clement has come through the biggest week of his Rangers career with his own credentials restored. Perhaps even enhanced and raised to a whole new height. And that’s quite a remarkable achievement given that it ended late yesterday afternoon with yet another Old Firm kick in the crotch.

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That’s six times he’s crossed managerial swords with Brendan Rodgers and Clement is still waiting to chalk up a first victory. Normally, those are the kind of numbers which would bring about a clamour for change. But the manner in which he has gone about his business, against Rodgers and the ghost of Celtic past in Ange Postecoglou on Thursday night, suggests there’s some life in him and his team after all.

It’s a similar story for the likes of Ianis Hagi and Nico Raskin who were having the last rights read on their Ibrox careers not so very long ago. Raskin may be small in stature but his contribution to this spectacular Premier Sports Cup Final was no less than gargantuan.

Hagi too carried the fight to a Celtic side which has simply forgotten how to lose. Ultimately, it was this inbuilt knack for survival which would eventually carry them across the finishing line, albeit via the penalty spot at the end of a final which will be remembered through the ages.

Six goals, extra time and 10 penalty kicks. The drama of it all was almost unrelenting. And woven into the narrative there was redemption of sorts too for Rangers skipper James Tavernier.

He may have ended up with another second prize to add to his collection but Tavernier looked his nemesis Daizen Maeda in the eye and did not let up until both of their tanks had been emptied. Of course, it was Maeda who netted the winning kick and he also scored during the second half at a moment when it looked as if Celtic were getting back into their stride.

But this time Tavernier gave the winger as good as he got and, in truth, Rangers managed to do that to their arch-opponents all over Hampden’s energy-sapping playing surface. This was more than seemed possible just a few weeks ago, when this pair were locked on to a collision course at the old place. Back then, it seemed only a matter of how many goals Celtic might notch up on their way to another silver ending.

But Clement and Rangers have stumbled on to something in the time that has passed since the semi-finals. And as a result what they were capable of offering up yesterday was enough to make them more than just competitive against their city rivals.

It really was an extraordinary affair and now that the dust is beginning to settle, Clement can continue to stride forward at a time when many thought he’d be retreating back to his homeland with a P45. His first task on cup final day was to select his strongest XI and that process was made even more difficult by the news that defensive rock John Souttar was unavailable and will remain so for some considerable time after limping off against Spurs

It was further complicated by the familiar dilemma over skipper Tavernier, who has been haunted by a recurring nightmare in the shape of Maeda whenever over these last few years. The winger’s hairstyles may change but the outcome invariably remains constant when this pair come together.

He came out on top with another medal round hanging around his neck yesterday evening. But, even so, this was a very different kind of derby day for the pair of them. Yes, the sheer scale of the pandemonium in the stands was the same as it always is. But it was on the pitch where an almighty battle had to be won in order for Celtic to get their hands on this latest trophy.

That’s 119 they’ve bagged over the years. A total which now eclipses the one on the other side of Glasgow’s divide. But this was as nip and tuck as it gets.

Also, Clement chose to leave striker Danilo on the sidelines while giving Nedim Bajrami and Hagi starting slots. And, yes, it did all feel a bit like trial and error stuff from a manager loading up his attack and hoping for the best. But it soon became clear it was, in fact, meticulously worked out and perfectly prepared.

Rangers were not just matching Celtic throughout that balanced first half, there were times when they were suffocating them in the middle of the pitch. Clement swamped bodies into the midfield to shut down the space for Hoops danger men Callum McGregor, Paulo Bernardo and Reo Hatate to operate in.

And they used a succession of long probes out from the back to get Celtic turning and retreating into their own territory. More and more, Rangers were stifling their rivals and this orchestrated squeeze led to Celtic’s players coughing up errors and misplaced passes.

Bajrami netted the opener before half-time after Greg Taylor failed to find Cameron Carter-Vickers with one such lapse and it was at that moment that Rangers seemed to unlock new levels of self-belief. That was tested when Taylor and then Maeda put Celtic back in front but, once again, Rangers responded in a manner which would have seemed beyond them no so long ago to level through Mohamed Diomande.

And even when Nicolas Kuhn thought he’d won it late on, Danilo levelled to take this tie all the way to its thrilling climax. Yes, it ended the way it almost always does. With another green and white ticker tape celebration.

But Rangers had made them fight tooth and nail for this latest trophy parade. And that’s a great deal more than many might have initially expected before kick-off.