Alex Neil reckons Celtic title fight will go "to the wire"

By Hamish Carton

November 26, 2019

Scottish manager Alex Neil has been giving his thoughts on the Premiership ‘title race’ in an interview with talkSPORT. (26/11/2019, approx. 11:30)

The former Hamilton Accies boss, who currently has Preston North End up in third in the English Championship, was on the radio station with compatriot Jim White. And the renowned journalist couldn’t help but get Neil’s thoughts on the Scottish top-flight and the upcoming Betfred Cup final.

(Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images)

“I think it’s neck-and-neck, to be honest. This is certainly the strongest Rangers have been since they’ve been back in the league.

“You can’t ever write Celtic off though; they’ve been champions and deservedly so for the last seven or eight seasons, so this one is going to go to the wire.

“I’m actually going to the cup final, so I’m looking forward to that.”

(Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Celtic have plenty of time to prove Neil and others wrong

If you asked the likes of Neil what he thought this time last year he would have been likely to give you a similar answer. The title race was level on points in January after all, albeit with us having a game in hand.

That’s why any talk of the title race going down to the wire seems more than a little premature. So far this season, Neil Lennon’s men have beaten the three teams directly below them in the table away from home.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

We’ve won convincingly at Ibrox, Pittodrie and Motherwell with an aggregate scoreline of 11-2. Rangers, in contrast, have yet to visit Celtic Park, Pittodrie and Fir Park – but they will do so, along with Easter Road, before the end of the year.

If they come through that schedule still neck and neck then it may be time to admit that we’re in a proper title fight. But it’s far too early for that at this stage. Let the media drum up all sorts of narratives about ‘title fights’ and ‘helicopter Sundays’. We’ll just focus on winning matches and notching nine-in-a-row with a bit to spare.

Hamish Carton
Hamish Carton is a sports media professional with more than eight years of experience in the industry. Previously a football reporter for the Press Association, Hamish joined 67 Hail Hail to cover his beloved Celtic FC, the team he has supported all of his life. He is the face of the website’s YouTube channel and is responsible for planning, presenting and editing videos on the channel. He writes occasionally on the website and, just like Patrick, he is so in love with Ange Postecoglou that he's even written a book about his journey at Celtic.

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