The first chunk of the 2024/25 season could not have gone much better for Celtic.
There have been 11 matches, 36 goals, 10 victories, and just one solitary loss – which was away from home against last year’s Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund.
Brendan Rodgers has his team fit, firing and ready to improve further after a raft of summer signings that are directly competing for starting eleven spots. Some of them are only just beginning to warm up to the Celtic task.
Rangers, in contrast, have lurched from crisis to crisis off the pitch while treading water on it. Out of European qualifiers, thumped in the derby and already five points behind in the Scottish Premiership league table.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  CelticCeltic | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 21 | 21 |
| 2 |  AberdeenAberdeen | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 21 |
| 3 |  RangersRangers | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 16 |
| 4 |  MotherwellMotherwell | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 13 |
Plenty of their supporters are questioning the direction manager Philippe Clement is taking them in, and Rangers-leaning pundits such as Kris Boyd aren’t happy either.
Everyone can see there’s a big gulf between the Bhoys and their rivals right now, as the former Ibrox striker admitted in a recent media appearance.
Kris Boyd’s verdict on Celtic strength compared to Rangers
Speaking on The Warm-Up YouTube show, Boyd was reviewing the season so far with hosts Gordon Duncan and Sam North, alongside Falkirk boss John McGlynn.
On Celtic’s dominating start to the campaign, the pundit said, “Domestically, when you look at Celtic, they are by far the best team in the league.
“From behind the scenes as well, that goes a long way. We’ve seen clubs in the past when they’ve had good teams on the pitch, but off the field, there might be something bubbling away in the background that might be about to kick off, and all of a sudden, that transfers onto the pitch.
“I think Celtic right now are in a very good place off and on the pitch. Look at the performances they’ve shown. Even last weekend (against Ross County), it wasn’t their best, but they go to the bench to bring on energy that lifts them and gets them a result.”
Then, when asked about Rangers, Boyd said he could be ‘ranting until this time next week’, expressing his disappointment with what’s happening at his old club.
Eventually collecting his thoughts, he was downbeat about what he sees from Celtic’s rivals right now.
Boyd said, “Listen, it’s hard for me to sit here, in terms of ‘it’s a project’, I don’t think Rangers Football Club should ever be a project. That’s just me. When I grew up, it was a winning machine. It has been different recently, and you have to give Celtic credit for that.”
Asked about the stability of Celtic’s team from week to week compared to what is going on with Clement’s side, Boyd responded, “There were a lot of changes over the summer. This has been one of Rangers’ problems for a number of years now.
“I don’t think that the recruitment policy or the players that have been brought in have strengthened the eleven as such.
“Whereas Celtic, they’ve gone and signed Arne Engels and he’s straight in the team, he plays. Even if you go back to Reo Hatate, he’s straight in the team.
“They’re signing players that make the eleven better. That’s the only way you can create a healthy squad that is going to get better.
“I don’t see it at Rangers. I don’t see it. We’re now in October, I couldn’t name Rangers’ best eleven right now, and I don’t think Philippe Clement can either, hence the reason he’s changing players every single week.”
Unity, recruitment and winning mentality behind Celtic dominance
They do seem a bit of a sorry state at the moment, despite beating other teams in Scotland more often than not.
Celtic are unified on their ambitions, inspiring supporters, spending significant resources and shopping in transfer markets that Rangers can’t touch.
There should be no real surprise that Brendan Rodgers’ champions are powering ahead again so far this season.
The Bhoys are now ‘the winning machine’ that Rangers fans such as Boyd are so nostalgic about.
As long as Celtic stay focused, keep working hard and don’t get complacent, then they should be difficult to touch this season – and potentially for a long time to come. Others have a lot of catching up to do.
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