The dust has settled on yet another Glasgow derby at Ibrox, and the narrative remains familiar for Celtic and Rangers.
Celtic rolled into Govan on Sunday, missing key personnel, put in an admittedly woeful footballing performance, and still walked away with their Scottish Cup dreams completely intact.
For Rangers, it is the ultimate psychological insult, and former Celtic star Greg Taylor has seen it all before.
The POAK defender, who left Glasgow in the summer and moved to Greece, hit the nail firmly on the head when dissecting the penalty shootout victory, pointing to the ‘pure mentality’ that consistently separates Scotland’s serial winners from its perennial runners-up.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Taylor about Celtic’s win at Ibrox. “It was just pure mentality, wasn’t it?
“But as Celtic teams have done for numerous seasons now, they find a way. There have been many times we have been to Ibrox. We played Rangers in these games and didn’t play well, but you found a way to win, and Sunday was the same again.”
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Greg Taylor reacts to Celtic’s Scottish Cup win over Rangers
While Rangers huffed and puffed in front of their own frustrated support over the 120 minutes in the Scottish Cup quarter-final, Celtic simply dug deep.
Taylor highlighted Auston Trusty’s heroic ‘eight or nine blocks’ as the absolute epitome of this mindset – a team of warriors willing to throw their bodies on the line when the flowing football simply isn’t clicking.
This is exactly why Celtic hoard the domestic silverware in recent times, while Rangers’ trophy cabinet gathers dust.
| Celtic’s trophies in the last ten seasons | Rangers’ trophies in the last ten seasons |
| 22 | 3 |
When the pressure reaches boiling point, Celtic ‘find a way’ almost on autopilot.
For Rangers, failing to capitalise on a wounded, underperforming Celtic side isn’t just a missed cup opportunity; it’s a damning indictment of a fragile club culture that simply doesn’t know how to win when it matters most.
And Taylor summed it up perfectly on Premier Sports.
Darrell Currie: “Alan (Hutton) has been talking about Celtic’s schedule for weeks on this show, and how brutal it has been.
“To come through this and the position they are in, Greg, with the players they are missing. How impressive is it?”
Greg Taylor: “It’s unbelievable. It was just pure mentality, wasn’t it? There was an amazing block from Trusty; he must have made eight or nine in the game.
“When you are missing big players, and obviously, the football hasn’t been plain-sailing this season for everyone at the club.
“But as Celtic teams have done for numerous seasons now, they find a way. There have been many times we have been to Ibrox. We played Rangers in these games and didn’t play well, but you found a way to win, and Sunday was the same again.
“To keep winning games, and winning games the way they have, it’s an immense mentality. Hopefully, it will carry them strong into the remainder of the season.”
Who does Taylor think will win the Premiership title?
Celtic won the double under Brendan Rodgers last season, and despite the farce of this campaign for the Hoops, both on and off the field of play, another double is still on.
But it’s Hearts who are sitting top of the Premiership table, and given Celtic’s history of winning trophy after trophy, Taylor has a sneaky feeling that Scottish football’s main crown will remain at Parkhead.
Alan Hutton: “Greg, see what you have seen there, like with the squad at this moment in time. Do you think they have the quality, of course, your squads did, to go on and win the league?”
Taylor: “I do, I do. It’s going to be difficult because you only have nine games to go now. Hearts are six points clear, so as time goes on, I have said all along that I thought Celtic would still do it.
“As time goes on, it’s looking more difficult, of course it is. You have to put Hearts now as favourites. I can’t see a way how it doesn’t finish the way that it always has in the last few recent seasons. That sounds wrong, but hopefully, big games come back.”
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