5 emphatic Celtic camp roars that Rangers will see as boasts as Philippe Clement looks out the blu tack.
For a large portion of the season, it didn’t seem like there would be a Premiership title race at all, but it is quickly heating up.
The amount of work completed since the Ibrox visitors last visited Govan on Tuesday night can be used to gauge Philippe Clement’s success thus far.
With a 3-1 victory in September of last year, Aberdeen dealt Michael Beale’s woeful Rangers the ultimate punch, leaving the Light Blues trailing Celtic by seven points after just seven games of the Scottish Premiership season. Even with St Mirren leading by three points, the Ibrox board decided to give up 24 hours after that loss because it was too much.
Even the most ardent Rangers fan would have been hard pushed to make a case for their team lifting the league title this season but just four months on from that defeat and things have turned around. The Dons head south with veteran English boss Neil Warnock likely to be in the red corner and a victory for Rangers by three goals or more would see them sit at the Premiership summit for the first time in TWO YEARS.
This will be Clement’s 16th league game in charge, and he has transformed the team with an amazing record of 14 victories, 1 draw, and only one loss—against Celtic. He has benefited from a lull in the Hoops offense, as Brendan Rodgers’ team surrendered 12 points in the same time frame. Many people, including Parkhead residents and former players who are now pundits, continue to doubt Rangers’ ability in light of their early-season troubles and two Old Firm derby losses.
Rangers breathing into Celtic’s necks and the Hoops trying to regain the steadiness of past seasons, however, may be making that opinion change. Rangers were criticized for having too much talk and not enough evidence to support it during Celtics’ supremacy, especially under the Beale period (see Todd Cantwell’s nuanced 56 Instagram post on the eve of the new season). However, it seems like Clement put a stop to that while discreetly going about his work, but remarks from the opposing side may serve as further incentive at Ibrox. Record Sport examines five of them during the course of the season.
Gers in the Brown stuff?
When Celtic great Scott Brown leads his Ayr United team to Ibrox on Saturday afternoon for their Scottish Cup fifth round match, tea time fans may be reminded of his assertion that his former team was virtually certain to win the championship. Brown had discussed the title race and knew without a doubt how it would turn out before accepting the job at Somerset Park. “I’m confident that Celtic will win the league,” he stated. “I believe that Celtic, particularly the front three, are the superior squad overall. Compared to Rangers, they appear more capable of scoring goals. They appear to have more legs all over the field, and their midfielders and defenders are undoubtedly superior.”
Mac the Knife
Callum McGregor delivered a savage dig at Rangers following Celtic’s derby win at Parkhead. The captain is measured when he speaks to the media but dropped his guard a bit as he spoke to punters in a hospitality suite – and it emerged on social media. He said the Light Blues “don’t deal with intensity” and “very quickly start to unravel” when pressed before adding that they “hadn’t played anyone” during a previously unbeaten run under Clement. It was searingly honest and gave a real insight into what the Celtic dressing room really thinks about their rivals.
Lennon says Celts drive Gers mental
Neil Lennon claimed the Ibrox side don’t have the mentality to break Celtic’s Premiership stranglehold. The Irishman said: ”They still haven’t got that mentality yet of squashing that hold that Celtic have over them and they need to break that if they’re going to win the league.
“And to do that they need to bring in either players of better quality or better mentality.” Clement responded by thanking Lennon for doing his team talk, although in Lennon’s defence he was talking about Gers’ ability to win the Old Firm derby and that hasn’t been answered yet. Their chance to prove him wrong will come at Ibrox in April.
Bullish Brendan
In light of his enormous success on that front the first time around, the fact he was taking over a team of Treble winners, and the fact he was up against an inexperienced manager, when Rodgers returned to Parkhead for a second stint, the emphasis was very much on improving in Europe. On the day of his revelation, he stood at the summit of Celtic Way and showed that he believed. He said, “For those who I need to convince, I will see you here in May,” to anyone who was skeptic or harboring resentment following the way he left after his first spell.
Bullish Brendan II
Throughout his first spell in charge, Rodgers continually heard of an improving Rangers as they returned to the top flight for the first time. But he brushed them aside before leaving for Leicester City. And as he basked in another derby triumph – his second of this season – in the Ne’erday clash he played down talk of a challenge from the other side with plenty of hype surrounding a rejuvenated Light Blues under Clement.
“During my two stints here, I’ve worked against five Rangers managers, and every time Rangers were coming,” he stated plainly. Every time, at some point. Thus, it’s usual for me. If I followed the press and media, we would always be in a state of emergency and terrified of the Rangers. However, after losing two points at Pittodrie over the weekend, he responded, “I expected nothing more,” when asked if it would be a “real battle.” You anticipate that as you enter each season. Some individuals might believe that you can win by ten, fifteen, or more points, but any squad that is competitive will make sure that they are there to battle, just as we are.
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