Rangers, a team who win next to nothing, spook Celtic, the side who win most of everything available in this country.
The evidence to support that claim is becoming as plentiful as it is undeniable. And we’re about to mark the first anniversary of when it all started.
Philippe Clement made himself look and sound daft on April 7 last year when he choreographed a lap of honour around Ibrox with his team then publicly stated that a draw against Brendan Rodgers’ side was a “moral victory”. But he still took three goals off Celtic nevertheless.
The then Ibrox manager had the axe hovering over his head by the time he came up against his biggest rivals in the Premier Sports Cup Final on December 15 – and promptly lost the only trophy he had in the cabinet. But he still took three goals off Celtic nevertheless.
The Belgian was being held in utter contempt by his own club’s fans when the Old Firm met in a derby at Ibrox on January 2, while separated by 14 points in favour of the visitors. But he still took three goals off Celtic nevertheless.
Clement had paid the price for failure with the sack by the time Barry Ferguson took Rangers to the East End of Glasgow last Sunday for what was only his fifth game as a top-flight manager. But he still took three goals off Celtic nevertheless.
The Rangers manager who can’t beat Celtic can’t remain as Rangers manager, as Clement found out. The Celtic manager who loses three goals to Rangers almost every time he faces them gives the Hoops fans the hump, as Brendan is discovering.
I’ve listened to their complaints on the radio. The manager doesn’t learn from his mistakes in the derby.
Rangers are now beating Celtic at will. The antidote to aggravation for Rodgers, and a disgruntled support, is to go to Ibrox for the final derby of the season with his team having already been confirmed as league champions for a fourth time in a row. And use that occasion to disprove the theory that when Celtic play Rangers, it looks as if Rangers are better than Celtic.
The title party that was originally scheduled for April 6 at McDiarmid Park has had to be cancelled because of last Sunday’s defeat to Rangers.
The three games prior to the split now have the potential to make Kilmarnock’s visit to Celtic Park on April 12 the gala day. But you could argue Rangers have done Rodgers a favour.
The weekend defeat only highlighted the lack of strength in depth at Celtic Park and establishing the need for some heavy-duty recruitment in the summer.
Let me make it abundantly clear at this point that Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell has absolutely nothing to do with the club’s transfer business. In or out.
I know this for a fact because I had to get out of bed a few weeks ago to take a call from him early one Sunday morning.
Peter was irate because of something I had written in that day’s column.
Not a personal opinion of mine, I have to say, but a reference to a fan on the radio having alleged that the chairman’s hand was “all over” Celtic’s transfer strategy.
The wrongly accused chairman assured me, in no uncertain terms, this was inaccurate nonsense. I happily repeat his stance here while stating that whoever is responsible for sourcing new players needs to get the finger out.
When you are reduced to praising a rarely-seen defender, Maik Nawrocki, for not making any mistakes, as opposed to giving an outstanding display last Sunday, it’s an acknowledgement of how thin on the ground they are.
Likewise, using two subs, when you could have had five on the park if they were of sufficient quality, tells its own story. The difference in tolerance levels where the Celtic support is concerned will be able to be measured when Hearts arrive in Glasgow on Saturday.
I won’t say they’ll park the bus – because buses have become a vexed subject at Tynecastle – but Neil Critchley’s side have the ability to create unrest on and off the park. And they might yet be Celtic’s opponents in the Scottish Cup Final as well, potentially sabotaging Rodgers’ hopes of a world record-breaking ninth Treble.
The last thing the home fans need at the weekend is the loss of any more league points and the cancellation of the rescheduled date for the title-winning shindig.
Then Celtic would have to go to Ibrox after the split with the title still arithmetically undecided and face the team who have taken to beating them at will. Allegedly.
And the Celtic fans already have enough to be concerned about while Rangers are still in the Europa League.
They have espoused the cause of Basque separatism while looking for Athletic Bilbao to do them a two-legged favour next month.
If they don’t manage to do that then the Celtic supporters will start to become as spooked as their team in a derby match.