Kris Commons has boldly stated that Celtic could be out of sight by the next Glasgow derby as he slammed “awful” Rangers.
The Hoops were left concerned after yesterday’s 0-0 draw against Hibernian at Easter Road. The result gave Rangers a golden opportunity to narrow the gap at the top of the Premiership to 1 point. Instead, they could only draw with Motherwell at Ibrox as our 3-point gap remained the same.
Celtic have concerns of their own regarding recent performances both domestically and abroad. However, at the same time, it was only our first domestic slip-up of 2022. Contrastingly, Rangers have now dropped 11 points since their return to Premiership action.
And Commons believes that, ahead of the sides meeting again on April 3rd at Ibrox, Celtic could be out of sight by then if the Ibrox side don’t buck up their ideas.
Speaking via his Scottish Daily Mail column [print edition, 28/02, The Verdict supplement, page 16], Commons said: “For Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the numbers since the winter break do not make for kind reading. In fact, they are awful. Since the Premiership returned in January, Rangers have now played eight games in the league, winning on only three occasions.
“Ange Postecoglou’s side have got their own issues to deal with after a painful European exit at the hands of Norwegians Bodo/Glimt. But for me, it’s Rangers who are the main talking point just now. For all their progress in Europe, the wheels are falling off domestically. They are spilling points at an alarming rate – and this run of form simply is not sustainable if they are to maintain a title challenge against Celtic.
“Van Bronckhorst needs to stop the slide, which won’t be easy given their continued progress in Europe. It’s something they need to address as soon as possible. If they don’t, then Celtic might well be out of sight by the time they visit Ibrox for the next Old Firm match on April 3.”
Celtic have golden opportunity over Rangers that they simply can’t blow
Yesterday, we failed to make the most of the opportunity presented to us. Not that we definitely would’ve been 5 points clear had we beaten Hibs – Rangers could’ve reacted differently to that. But in the sense that we didn’t pile the pressure on them further to give ourselves a chance of extending the lead.
Rangers dropping 11 points since the winter break is a key sign of their mentality. They crumble when they’re in the middle of an intense title-race. It’s not something their players like or thrive on. Celtic have to keep their foot on the accelerator and see how far it takes them.
Put it this way, it would be ideal if we entered the Ibrox derby in April without there just being a 1-game difference in the points gap. If we head to Govan with a 4-point difference at the very least, it would put us well in the driving seat. If we won the game or even avoided defeat, a major blow would’ve been done to Rangers’ title chances.
We’re getting there. We’re now into the final 10 games of the Premiership campaign. Celtic have just come off a 10-game winning run. A run similar to that and we’ll be lifting the trophy come May.
But talk of us being out of sight ahead of the game against Rangers in April seems premature. They face games away to St Johnstone and Dundee whilst welcoming Aberdeen to Ibrox. You wouldn’t put all of those down as slip-ups, as much as we all hope that’ll be the case.
Celtic still have the momentum even if we have problems of our own. There’s no denying a major opportunity is on our doorstep here. But talk of being out of sight over the next month? We don’t want to be getting cocky, put it that way.
In other news, “Outstanding”; The Lennoxtown pair who left Celtic B coach extremely impressed yesterday
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