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Chris Sutton sends Rangers Old Firm warning after Alashkert stalemate
Chris Sutton has placed huge question marks over Rangers after they stumbled into the group stage of the Europa League on Thursday night.
Rangers drew 0-0 against Alashkert to triumph 1-0 on aggregate against the Armenia outfit after last week’s win at Ibrox.
Alashkert were down to 10 men for more than half of the game after an early red card but the Gers failed to make the hosts pay and had to settle for a draw.
Speaking on Premier Sports [in a video relayed on the Premier Sports TV Twitter account] after Celtic lost to AZ Alkmaar but also progressed to the same stage, ex-Hoops striker Sutton sent the Gers a warning ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm meeting.
“Give the manager a chance to go and wipe the floor with Rangers because Rangers, I don’t know what’s gone on across the city this season,” he said.
“They were very fortunate that they got Alashkert who were hopeless, absolutely hopeless, and they scraped through.
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“Celtic have a chance of turning things over. Whether there is complacency across the city, I don’t know, but if I was Rangers I’d be looking over my shoulder and be worried about Celtic.
“We saw the way Celtic imploded last season, could it happen with Rangers?”
Did enough
Sure, Thursday night was uninspiring in the extreme, and the Gers need to buck their ideas up fast after a slow start to the 2021/22 campaign.
But there was never a serious danger of relinquishing their lead to the Armenians amidst a COVID-19 outbreak at the club that saw them shorn of the services of some key men, including James Tavernier and Ryan Kent.
Rangers even got the job done without Steven Gerrard on Thursday as he was also forced to self-isolate and miss the trip.
It’s been a sticky start to the season for the Light Blues, while Celtic may be rejuvenated under Ange Postecoglou, but Sunday represents the perfect time for the Gers to click back into form.
Gerrard and his men shouldn’t need to frantically worry about the upcoming Old Firm – they have won five of the last six encounters, remaining unbeaten.
It’s Celtic who will be mentally preparing for a hostile Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, a BBC pundit slammed this Gers star in Thursday’s 0-0 draw v Alashkert.