Neil McCann predicts Celtic will lose title to Rangers on BBC Sportsound; Michael Stewart counters

By John McGinley

October 3, 2020

Neil McCann has made a bold Scottish Premiership title prediction on BBC Sportsound today, stating that Celtic will fall short of winning ten-in-a-row.

He told the broadcaster on Saturday: “I’ve watched a lot of Celtic this season and I still don’t think they’re flying – that could be ominous to the rest of the league and Rangers. They still get results.

“Rangers for me, I think they’ll win the league, yeah. I think they will win it but they have to show the level of consistency that Celtic have shown and last season they fell short.”

Pundit Michael Stewart, who has been a regular guest on Celtic TV this season, countered that.

He reckons that Neil Lennon’s Bhoys will still come out on top despite improvement at Ibrox.

Celtic celebrate a win over Rangers / (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

The former Hibs and Hearts man said on BBC Sportsound: “Neil Lennon has been talking up Celtic a lot over the last couple of weeks. I think he’s trying to cajole them up to the next level. They’ve not quite hit the heights yet, but it’s what Celtic do – they still get results.

“Rangers’ good game is as good as anyone else. The problem for them is over the last few seasons under Steven Gerrard, when they’ve dipped, they’ve lost a lot of points. They’ve lost the league on the basis of that.

“My gut instinct is that yes they (Celtic) will the title, but that’s based on their historical character that they’ve shown – they’ve maintained that consistency.”

It’s bold of McCann to put his neck on the line with a title prediction so early in the season, but then he is a former Ibrox winger of course.

With Rangers dropping more points than the Bhoys this term already, I’m not quite sure where his justification comes from.

Odsonne Edouard scores for Celtic against Rangers / (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Celtic have shown incredible resilience over the years, especially in recent seasons.

Every year it feels like the Ibrox side are tipped for title glory and every year Scott Brown and company have shut the doubters up.

Like most Celtic supporters, I expect they’ll do the same by the end of 2020/21.

In other news, the SFA and SPFL have accused the Scottish government of making political, not clinical, decisions when it comes to football.