Over the last 25 years, Celtic have been the dominant side in Scotland, and the trophies tell that story.
But in the history of Scottish football, the rivalry and battle between Celtic and Rangers has been as fierce as anything else seen on British soil.
The Glasgow derby is, without a doubt, the biggest derby in Britain and one of the biggest in the world.
It stands alongside the Istanbul derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, as well as the Superclásico in Buenos Aires between Boca Juniors and River Plate.
But on the pitch, those nations and teams don’t have the money some leagues across the world are able to splash about, including the billion-pound machine of the English Premier League.
And Ally McCoist was keen to defend football in Scotland, especially in Glasgow.
Ally McCoist defends Celtic and Rangers
Russell Martin is the new Rangers boss, after being sacked by Southampton in December when they were in the Premier League.
The former defender is effectively a Championship-quality manager because that’s where his success has come from so far, and Simon Jordan was keen to make that point following Martin’s appointment, as he compared England’s second-tier to the Scottish Premiership.
McCoist stated that, on the players’ side, he can reluctantly agree there are similarities, but the former striker was eager to point out that there is a ‘massive difference’ to the pressures that Celtic and Rangers managers are under, as he told talkSPORT.
Jordan claimed: “You have to look at the standard of Scottish football and say, ‘well, he (Martin) is a Championship manager, so that must mean that Rangers are a Championship level side’.”
McCoist responded: “His final statement, possibly. Maybe even probably.
“But I don’t agree with his assumption that, just because you can manage a team in the Championship, you can manage one of the biggest clubs in Britain. There is a big difference. I think there is a massive difference.
“I do take his point, in terms of the quality of the teams and the players, but it’s absolutely incomparable, I think, to manage any team in the Championship. I am just thinking about all of the teams in the Championship right now to manage a team like Rangers or Celtic. It’s just no comparison, for me.”
English Championship vs Celtic and Rangers
When you have teams like Birmingham City splashing close to £20 million on a striker when they are in England’s third-tier, then that tells you everything you need to know about the gulf in finances.
Celtic’s club-record transfer is Arne Engels at £11m, and that was after Matt O’Riley was sold to Brighton for £25 million.
But when you look at England’s second-tier, the likes of Leicester City, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, and West Brom are considered the biggest teams.
And, the difference in pressure of those clubs, and someone like Celtic, is beyond night and day.
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