The hangover of Celtic’s defeat to Rangers is over after Brendan Rodgers’ side battered Hearts.
Celtic’s win meant that the 13-point gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership table remained intact after Barry Ferguson’s Rangers struggled to topple Dundee yesterday evening.
The Ibrox club were on a high after their rare Celtic Park win just before the international break, but the win in Tayside has not left Hoops hero Chris Sutton fooled.
Sutton was on commentary duty as he watched Rangers fall behind to a two-goal lead for the third time under Ferguson’s rein before they fought back to win 4-3 at the death in Dens Park.
Casting his eye over his old rivals, Sutton said he still has ‘massive doubts’ over Rangers as he sent them a Celtic message that every Parkhead supporter is likely to agree with.
- READ MORE: ‘That’s all that’s been mentioned’ – What Celtic told Jeffrey Schlupp about a permanent move
Barry Ferguson warned that Rangers will be ‘crucified’ & Celtic win was a ‘one-off’
Sutton told Sky Sports: “When they come up against Bilbao in the Europa League, they will be crucified if they give up opportunities like they have done in the last six games.
“And it’s something Barry must be aware that they need to improve. I was really confused by some of the things Barry said there.
“He’s certain that a few weeks ago they would have lost that game? I don’t know how he could be certain of that.
“He sort of came across as though he cracked it when he talks about old bad habits creeping back in again.
“Because they beat Celtic doesn’t mean they should be getting the bunting out. That was a one-off. You know, they did well to beat Fenerbahce.
“I think there’s a lot of work for Barry and his coaching team to do. He’s coming out and talking about things turning around, and I think that that’s very hard to judge at this moment in time.
“I’ve still got massive doubts about Rangers.”
How Celtic have kept the huge gap to Rangers despite Glasgow Derby defeats
Celtic have lost the last two Glasgow Derby’s against Rangers but still have a commanding lead over the Ibrox side at the top of the table.
And it’s down to how Brendan Rodgers keeps his team fully focused on EVERY fixture and not just the games against his rivals.
So with that in mind, here is how Celtic have managed to keep so far ahead of Rangers despite dropping six Glasgow Derby points this season.
Celtic’s first three results compared to Rangers after September Glasgow Derby win
- Celtic 2 v 0 Hearts
- St Johnstone 0 v 6 Celtic
- Ross County 1 v 2 Celtic
- Dundee United 0 v 1 Rangers
- Rangers 3 v 0 Dundee
- Rangers 1 v 0 Hibs
Celtic’s first three results compared to Rangers after January Glasgow Derby defeat
- Celtic 3 v St Mirren 0
- Celtic 2 v 0 Dundee United
- Ross County 1 v 4 Celtic
- Hibs 3 v 3 Rangers
- Dundee 1 v 1 Rangers
- Rangers 3 v 1 St Johnstone
Celtic’s relentlessness has kept them poles apart from Rangers and history almost repeated itself yesterday afternoon.
Sutton is correct, there is still a lot of work for them to do to get anywhere near the Scottish champions over the course of a season and not just the odd fixture.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
