The name Tommy Ring might not resonate with most Scottish football enthusiasts heading out to cheer on their teams this weekend.

In fact, it’s likely that many haven’t even heard of him. This isn’t surprising, considering his claim to fame stems from an event that took place over seven decades ago.

Back then, only a select few witnessed the Clyde legend slip the ball past Celtic goalkeeper John Bonnar at Hampden Park, clinching the 1955 Scottish Cup for the Bully Wee.

It was a remarkable season, as Aberdeen celebrated their first-ever league title just days before, and Hearts had already secured the League Cup for their collection.

While the Old Firm teams dominated Scottish football during that era, the competition was arguably more balanced than what we experience in 2025.

New Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy has suffered four consecutive defeats to begin his reign

Clyde icon Tommy Ring scored the winning goal in the 1955 Scottish Cup final against Celtic

St Mirren collected the Scottish season’s first piece of silverware at Hampden last weekend

Indeed, during the 10 years prior to the 1954-55 campaign, the likes of East Fife, Dundee and Hibernian shared the honours with Glasgow’s big two.

What marks that particular season out from the rest, however, is that both ended it empty-handed. Incredibly, it hasn’t happened since.

There may never be a better chance to put an end to that run of domestic domination than the one which is up for grabs right now.

St Mirren have certainly done their bit. The Buddies’ outstanding Premier Sports Cup triumph over Celtic last weekend was eye-opening for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it was no fluke. No backs-to-the-wall job in the hope of grinding out a result. They were the better team on the day. Good luck finding anyone who’ll disagree with that.

Tactically, Stephen Robinson got it spot on, and there’s a real case to be made that he is now the club’s greatest-ever manager given what he’s achieved with such little in the way of resources to work with.

Krisztian Keresztes celebrates after drawing Dundee United level against Celtic in midweek

The Northern Irishman spoke in the build-up of how his modestly assembled squad of players had to exercise ‘faith over fear’ if they were to have any chance of winning just their fifth major trophy.

His men got the message, and carried out that mantra to a tee. Robinson wouldn’t have been the first manager to talk a good game before facing the Old Firm only to then fall flat on his face. That tends to be par for the course in these parts.

But on this occasion, you got the feeling he had no doubt that his players were up to the task. And to a man, they went over and above to prove him right.

Based on the state of both Celtic and Rangers these days, you can hardly blame Robinson for having such confidence. The fear factor is long gone.

Let’s be honest, Dundee United couldn’t have wished for a better opponent than Wilfried Nancy’s side to end their own seven-game winless streak on Wednesday night.

Granted, they rode their luck in the first half, but as soon as Krisztian Keresztes levelled things up early in the second, there was only ever going to be one winner.

Hearts defender Oisin McEntee savours his winning goal against Celtic earlier this month

Celtic were rotten long before the new boss rocked up in Glasgow. But just four games in to what he hoped would be a long and successful spell in the Parkhead dugout, the Frenchman resembles a dead man walking.

He has to take his fair share of the blame for what has been a historically bad start, but the club’s problems run much deeper than one man. He has inherited a shambles not of his own making.

Hibs, St Johnstone, Aberdeen, Hearts and Dundee had all taken maximum points against the reigning champions in 2025 prior to Nancy’s arrival. A few others could count themselves unfortunate not to have done the same.

Celtic face an in-form Dons side this weekend. Trips to Livingston and Motherwell await before hosting Rangers on January 3. Considering the way they’re playing, it’s hard to see them coming out of this period without suffering further damage to their title prospects.

The reality is that Nancy will do remarkably well to still be in a job come the New Year. That’s how bad it is.

There’s no question that Celtic have become a soft touch over the past 12 months, and Nancy hasn’t done anything to suggest he can fix the issue.

Rangers manager Danny Rohl has seen results improve at Ibrox but performances less so

Rangers, on the other hand, have been wearing that tag round their neck since the days of Steven Gerrard.

Michael Beale and Giovanni van Bronckhorst couldn’t sort them out, nor could Phillipe Clement. As for Russell Martin? The less said about him the better.

Danny Rohl has come in and steadied the ship to an extent. Six wins and a couple of draws in eight league games is a decent return considering the club were sitting eighth when the ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss took over.

There has been an improvement under the German. But that’s not saying a whole lot.

His side were brutal against both Falkirk and Livingston at home in November. For the two newly promoted teams to turn up at Ibrox with such confidence speaks volumes about the current state of affairs.

All of this, of course, is good news for Hearts. The league leaders endured a mini-wobble last month, but look to have come through it relatively unscathed having delivered back-to-back wins to open up a six-point cushion over Celtic at the top of the table.

Hearts boss Derek McInnes is understandably playing down expectations… but for how long?

Another victory over third-placed Rangers would see them extend that lead — at least for a few hours. And many would expect them to do exactly that.

In recent years, Tynecastle has tended to be a much tougher proposition on paper than on the grass, with this afternoon’s visitors’ last defeat in Gorgie coming almost six years ago.

But Hearts made light work of things when the sides met back in September, winning for the first time at Ibrox since both were plying their trade in the Championship.

The Gorgie men have shown time and time again that they are genuine contenders. Surely there can’t be many doubters around now?

Look at it this way, how many Celtic or Rangers players, on current form, would be a starter under Derek McInnes? You’d be doing well to name one.

Aberdeen beat Celtic to win the Scottish Cup last season, but who will lift the trophy next May?

Most are still waiting for the wheels to come off, but even if they did, there isn’t a team capable of taking advantage. You would have to assume that more investment will be coming in January as well, especially given the Premiership title is within reach.

As for the Scottish Cup? In a one-off game, almost every team will fancy their chances against the Old Firm, home, away, or on neutral ground. Fans of St Mirren — and Scottish Cup holders Aberdeen — will attest to that.

Don’t be remotely surprised if neither team are involved in the final on May 23.

Coming up against either Celtic or Rangers can no longer be regarded as the foregone conclusion it once was, and Scottish football is far better — and frankly, far more interesting — for it.