What percentage of the blame lies with the Rangers players for the failings under Philippe Clement?
CRAIG SWAN: Clement hasn’t done himself any favours, but his players are mentally weak. Fair enough, he signed most of them, but you have to be better. This Rangers squad simply do not cope under any duress. It takes mentality as well as ability to play for the club.
FRASER WILSON: The manager and his players have got to own it all now. It’s 50/50 between the two. The early season shambles behind the scenes is all in the past and the last two performances at Ibrox in particular have been spineless. Rangers lack leaders on the park, characters who can drag a struggling team to victory. It looks the same in the dug out.
GRAEME YOUNG: Let’s call it 50 per cent. The Rangers manager, at times, has almost used the chaos of Ibrox as a shield to deflect his own deficiencies. But his bluster appears to be on the wane and those on the pitch are anything but blameless and it goes beyond James Tavernier, the lightning rod captain who cops the flak.
ROSS PILCHER: A hefty chunk. The buck always stops with the boss but he can’t play the game for them. He’s looked like a dead man walking for a few weeks now but the players have been going through the motions knowing Clement is a convenient lighting rod.
What did you make of the VAR intervention in Celtic’s disallowed goal?
CRAIG: Unless there is an angle that none of us have seen to this point, Brendan Rodgers was right to suggest it was a guess because that’s all it can be without a right-on-the-line camera. There was no need for Alan Muir to get involved otherwise.
FRASER: It’s impossible to say if it was in or out due to the angle of the camera and that is down to the fact Scottish football has a second rate version of the technology. It was guesswork from those at the controls. Brendan Rodgers is right to be angry.
GRAEME: It felt like the wrong decision. The match officials made the call and no evidence has emerged which offers a compelling case to the contrary, in fact, some of the fan footage which has been shared offers a better view than the one Alan Muir used to change the decision on the field.
ROSS: I thought the ball looked like it had gone out in real time. The camera angles weren’t ideal and they don’t show whether a millimetre of the ball might have been overhanging the line. But TV angles from behind looked about as conclusive as it was likely to get and there probably would have been even more uproar if the onfield decision had been allowed to stand.
Will Aberdeen keep their spot in the table or will they be overtaken?
CRAIG: Jimmy Thelin has come through a tough patch and these last two wins are massive. But there’s a long way to go and Aberdeen have to improve. There are still things to get better at.
FRASER: It looks like momentum is swinging in their favour again but the next two games away to Celtic and home to Dundee United will tell us more. I still fancy Hibs or Hearts to finish best of the rest.
GRAEME: This Dons team are streakier than bacon and fans will hope this upturn is for real. The cynic would point out Jimmy Thelin’s side often struggle to dominate games and are still prone to giving up big chances but they appear to have a depth of squad which should keep Hibs and Dundee United at bay.
ROSS: It looks a bit more likely now than it did a few weeks ago. However, having already gone from one extreme to the other, you wouldn’t be putting the mortgage on them. It’s tight and they probably won’t be the only contenders after the split.
Has David Gray proven he is the long term answer as Hibs manager?
CRAIG: Just as a bad run wasn’t evidence he should go, the current run isn’t proof Gray is going to get forever. No manager does. But the hope is that he keeps it going and stays in post for many years.
FRASER: Absolutely. Hibs were right to stand by the manager in tough times and he has repaid them. They are the form team in Scotland right now bar none. Saturday’s win over Celtic proved they have the quality and the mentality to go on and finish third.
GRAEME: Yes, it’s easy to say now but the players inside the dressing room who knew the club icon were buzzing when he earned the job and the Easter Road hype has been proven correct during this incredible run.
ROSS: Hard to say. Has recovered really well from a bad start, but he’s not changed personnel much and there’s always a question whether the same group will revert to their early season form when this run ends. With some major cost cutting on the way this summer at Easter Road most of a squad to replace, next season will tell us a lot.