Mark Wilson: Rangers Old Firm defeat could have been much worse
Former Celtic defender Mark Wilson believes Celtic eased off in the second half of their 4-0 victory over Rangers and suggested that the defeat could’ve been much worse.
Ange Postecoglou’s side ran away with a rampant first-half display which saw Celtic run into a 3-0 lead before the break.
David Turnbull completed the scoring in the 78th minute after a mistake from Jon McLaughlin in the Gers net and Wilson believes the defeat could’ve been worse.
Talking on Sky Sports News on Sunday 4 September, Wilson said: “It’s quite remarkable the way that Celtic have started the season and Celtic fans always look to the first fixture against Rangers to assess where they are.
“Yesterday it was a total annihilation of Rangers.
“There’s been a lot of big scorelines in Old Firm Derby’s before but I think yesterday’s was one of the most impressive.
“In the second half Celtic eased off a bit and if they hadn’t it could’ve been much worse for Rangers.”
Tough times
The harrowing defeat on Saturday is probably Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s toughest moment as Rangers manager since his arrival at Ibrox in 2021.
It’s absolutely crucial that the Gers bounce back immediately against Aberdeen in their next domestic encounter.
Celtic will drop points this season and it’s absolutely essential that Rangers are hot on their heels when they do.
If Rangers dwell on the miserable afternoon’s work at Parkhead then they could find themselves too far behind Postecoglou’s men before they host Celtic at Ibrox at the start of January.
Rangers’ Champions League journey gets underway this week and that could well be a welcome distraction for van Bronckhorst with the Gers’ best form coming in Europe in recent years.
A positive result against Ajax will quickly put to bed the Old Firm display and allow for the Gers to head into their fixture against Aberdeen with more confidence.
These are the situations where van Bronckhorst will really earn his money.
In other Rangers news, the BBC never seem to learn their lessons as they persist with their embarrassing anti-Rangers agenda.