As Celtic move deeper into the season full of optimism and hope, the same cannot be said for our rivals across the city.
The Bhoys may have had a slow summer on the transfer front but the arrival of Adam Idah was a fresh indication that strong business will be done in the closing weeks of the season.
Rangers meanwhile cannot get their own house in order – quite literally. They have been shifted to Hampden while delayed stadium works take place and their lack of movement on agreed safety measures means their fans will not be allowed into Celtic Park for the upcoming derby.
While some have tried to drag Celtic into that ticket mess as equal culprits, Brendan Rodgers sent a firm reminder to the media on Friday that this is not the case.
Chris Sutton has backed that up this weekend, too, sharply criticising the Ibrox club and predicting ‘dangerous times’ ahead for Philippe Clement and company.
Chris Sutton’s latest on Celtic and Rangers
The Sky Sports regular said [Daily Record]: “If Rangers can’t be straight with their own fans, how can Celtic take their word at face value when it comes to Celtic supporters? It looks to me the agreement reached last March was on the provision that certain safety measures were made in the wake of previous problems. Celtic have held up their side of the bargain and got the planning permission and the work done ahead of the first derby. But what about Rangers? I get the fact the return game is months away and there’s still time to sort it.
“Unless there are plans set in stone, though, then how can Celtic know for sure they will be carried out? After all, this is a Rangers board who can’t even tell their own supporters if they will even be back at Ibrox by that point. So they’d be telling the Celtic board, ‘trust us, it’ll be alright on the night’. I don’t think so.
“We just need to hope Rangers get the finger out and get the work done and we can at least get going in the right direction again. In the meantime, Celtic fans are taking great delight in the mess over at Ibrox, with the Champions League exit to Dynamo Kyiv and all the other issues, while they are splashing the cash to bring back Adam Idah and boasting about how much money they have in the bank.
“I do think these are dangerous times for Rangers and it could unravel quickly for Philippe Clement. But that doesn’t mean Celtic can afford to write off their rivals, or even just underestimate them. Rangers still should be strong enough to be better than every other side in Scotland and that means Brendan Rodgers’s side will need to be on it every week.”
Celtic need to plough on
As Sutton notes, Celtic must stay focused on their own tasks and let whatever happens across the city just become easily ignorable noise.
In theory, if Celtic deliver on their targets in the transfer market and performance level then what Clement manages to muster up will be irrelevant.
The Bhoys already have the best squad and best manager in the country. It’s now about hammering home that advantage and living up to the club’s full potential.
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