Chris Sutton takes dig at Rangers after win over Celtic

By John McGinley

May 13, 2023

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton conceded zero ground to Rangers with his instant reaction to Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Ibrox, insisting the match didn’t matter.

The Bhoys were undoubtedly poor in Govan this afternoon and goals from Todd Cantwell, John Souttar and Fashion Sakala inflicted Celtic’s first derby defeat of the season so far. Ultimately though it was about as meaningless as this derby can ever get, with no stakes or consequences for defeat involved.

Sutton was quick to note that on social media at the full-time whistle, stating: “Well done Rangers on winning the Doesn’t Matter Trophy against Celtic Reserves… brilliant stuff.”

It’s obviously never nice to lose to our rivals. Never. But the words of Sutton will ring true with more than a few Celtic supporters today. It was certainly nice to win the games against Rangers that delivered silverware this season, compared to an end-of-season runout.

Ange Postecoglou notably rotated his eleven to less than full-strength, giving some fringe players a starting opportunity. While that will mitigate the defeat for some – for others it will be a lesson that perhaps going into these fixtures without as strong a team as possible isn’t going to be a recipe for success.

Postecoglou delivered an honest verdict on the afternoon in his post-match interview, admitting that the number of changes he made may have been a contributing factor to the defeat.

While the manager said this was down to match sharpness, Celtic’s squad depth may not quite be at the levels required for next season. Many fans, as always, will be looking for some quality added in the summer transfer window.

Thankfully, the Bhoys will quickly be putting today behind them and moving on to some big days over the next few weeks. There’s a trophy day against Aberdeen to look forward to while the squad will be shooting for a treble of trophies in the Scottish Cup Final. It’s Celtic fans who will have a smile on their face long into the off-season.

In other news, North Curve release statement after Thursday night success; next steps in The Celtic End project.