Gary McAllister believes that a victory over Celtic would be a “big plus” for Rangers heading into the new season.
The Rangers assistant manager believes the target is now to close the gap on Celtic a tad before the end of the campaign. Rangers and Celtic face each other at Ibrox in the penultimate round of fixtures in the Scottish Premiership.
A victory for Celtic and the gap will be 12 points. Should the Ibrox side manage a result, the gap would be shortened to six. As we all know, Celtic are already champions, but the gap between the sides remains a talking point heading into next year.
And McAllister’s comments show just how much importance this game has for our rivals. Speaking in the Daily Record, the Ibrox assistant said the following:
“If we finish the season pulling away from Aberdeen and close the gap on Celtic a little bit, that would be a plus for us.
“If we can finish with two good performances and get two positive results, then that would give us a big high going into the summer.
“The players would go away feeling good about themselves. Then it is up to us as coaches to bolster the squad.”
Importance of victory can’t be underestimated
Rangers seem to be putting a lot on this one. Celtic have to understand just how much of a body blow this will be to our rivals if we win. Regardless of whether you see them as a threat or not ahead of next year, giving them a painful defeat gives us a real psychological boost.
The gap still appears to mean so much to McAllister’s side. Celtic, of course, ended the league title 12 points clear of Rangers last season. Keeping the gap at that length would be a fine boost heading into next year.
Considering the importance of 10-in-a-row, why take the risk of allowing Rangers any form of momentum? Celtic should be taking no chances, and Neil Lennon and the Hoops squad will understand this too.
What McAllister has done here is confirm to everyone just how important this game is to Rangers. That makes it an important game for us too, as removing a large degree of hope from their system would be positive for the Celts heading into the summer.
Defeat, and we’ll have to listen to over-the-top ramblings of how we won’t win the league next year. Can you honestly be bothered with that?
It’s down to Lennon and the Bhoys to make sure hope is once again removed from Ibrox this summer. Three points will go a long way to doing just that.
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