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BBC pundit’s ‘huge’ title warning to Rangers despite Celtic dropping points to Hibernian

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Celtic have been absolutely relentless in the dominance over Rangers in Scottish football.

Fans only need to look at Celtic’s trophy history to see how the Parkhead club have reigned supreme over the Rangers for the last 25 years.

With Celtic just two points off Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, Brendan Rodgers is still on course to win the club’s fifth title in a row.

Rangers, on the other hand, have been stuttering along and find themselves in 8th place in the table, seven points behind Celtic.

And delivering his verdict on whether or not Russell Martin can lead his team to the title, BBC pundit Stephen Craigan laid out bare the ‘huge’ task ahead of the Rangers boss to even get close to Rodgers’ side this season.

SPFL Trophy before the cinch Premiership match between Celtic FC and Kilmarnock FC at Celtic Park
Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images

Celtic have almost made Rangers’ season a ‘write-off’ says Stephen Craigan

Celtic have never dropped below the 90 point mark in their last four league title wins.

And looking at those stats, Craigan warned Rangers that their league title race is all but over even after Celtic dropped points against Hibs.

Craigan told BBC Radio Scotland prior to Rangers beating Livingston, “I’ve just had a brief look this morning at the last few years of points required to win a league title.

“It has been 92, 93, 99 and 93 in the last four seasons. For Rangers, even to get the 90, they would have to win the equivalent of 28 of their next 33 league games to get that kind of total.

“So that’s a long, long way away. This season is almost a write-off if they don’t start picking up points, the league season is almost a write-off.

“It’s a huge effort needed from them, and you cannot see them winning eight of the next 10 games or nine of the next 10 games, never mind 28 of the next 33.

“So he’s got a huge job on his hands, and it’s going to have to turn very, very quickly.”

Is Celtic’s relentless dominance of Scottish football under threat from Hearts?

Celtic appear to be facing a title challenge from Hearts as Rangers continue to flounder in the mid-table positions.

But can Hearts sustain a prolonged challenge to force a title race from Celtic? The short answer is, probably not.

Celtic’s vast resources and despite the drop in quality, their squad strength should be enough to see them over the line come the end of the season.

However, fans will never say never. Performances from Rodgers’ side have been nowhere near good enough and Celtic have failed to score in four games over all competitions this season which is almost unheard of.

Whilst nothing can be taken for granted, Celtic supporters will still be confident of winning the title this season despite Hearts’ good start.