EIGHT months have passed, but the pain still lingers.

The agony of the 3-2 defeat to Hibs that Rangers suffered in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden back in May was exacerbated by the disgraceful events which took place after the final whistle.

But the discomfort which Mark Warburton and his team felt at surrendering their lead to Alan Stubbs's side late on and squandering a chance to lift their first major trophy was already acute before the unrest.

Conceding goals to Anthony Stokes and David Gray in the closing stages of a game which they looked poised to win was difficult to bear and remains a sore point with many.

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The Ibrox club will play their first match in the William Hill-sponsored competition since that day when they take on top flight rivals Motherwell at home tomorrow.

Warburton admitted the chance to make amends for the reverse will be a motivation for him and the players who were involved to do well.

“There is a genuine sense of unfinished business from last year," he said. “It’s the Scottish Cup and you are 10 minutes away from winning it. Winning it, winning the league and winning the Petrofac Cup would have been a very good season.

"It was disappointing to lose it in the manner that we did so late in the game. There is a sense of unfinished business.

“It was disappointing that a day of that significance should finish in such a manner. Football-wise, I was disappointed. There is no doubt that we defended poorly at two set pieces, gave the ball away cheaply and got punished for it.”

Asked if he had dwelled on a loss that denied his team the chance to win a unique domestic treble, Warburton said: “You’ve just lost a cup final ain’t you?

Read more: Mark Warburton: We want Barrie McKay to commit his future to Rangers - but he could play at the highest level

“You have to watch the game because we conceded two soft late goals and didn’t generally perform that well in the game. We had to look at it to see why.

"Some people felt there was a statement being made with the subs (Warburton only named five when he could have selected seven). There wasn’t. I just felt that maybe the squad ran out of petrol at the end. There wasn’t anything left in the tank, simple as that.

"They had given everything, we had no subs, we couldn’t play the loan players, couldn’t play (Ryan) Hardie and (Jordan) Thompson, and (Tom) Walsh. It was a difficult one for us.”

Having recruited extensively in the summer and added to his pool in the January transfer window, though, Warburton feels his squad is better placed to cope with going on an extended run in the Scottish Cup this season.

“Injuries have hurt us, be we are stronger," he said. "We are in a position where the young boys are a year older. The likes of Liam Burt, if called upon, can come up. We have choices in there as well."

Rangers were handicapped by the fact they didn't have a competitive fixture for three weeks before the Scottish Cup final having finished their league campaign at the start of the month.

They face an identical issue this weekend. The last meaningful game that Warburton's side played was against Celtic at Ibrox on Hogmanay.

"You think about whether the preparation was right in the three weeks prior to the cup final?" said Warburton. "Did we spend it wisely? Was it right to do what we did? Who knows?

"We have the same winter break problem now. We will see how teams fare at the weekend. Some have chosen to go away to Dubai, some have chosen friendly fixtures, like we did, so it will be interesting to see what happens at the weekend.”

Read more: Mark Warburton: We want Barrie McKay to commit his future to Rangers - but he could play at the highest level

He added: "At the same time, the league is important to us and we have got to focus on Motherwell and don’t look ahead to potential semi-finals and finals. We have to forget that and beat Motherwell first.

"As with the league, it is only one game at a time, it has to be. Motherwell are tough opponents. I think they dropped a few points league-wise and I am sure they will come here with a focus on the football.

"They will be more relaxed and will be looking to enjoy the cup. We are well aware of what we face. We are looking forward to it.

"This is the Scottish Cup. Every time we win a game of football it is a positive. It galvanises the fans, reignites the fans so to speak, and we go through to the next round.

"You get the excitement of the draw and who you’re playing. That whole momentum starts to build. It’s important. But every team that enters, I am sure, has the ambition of winning a trophy.”