Michael Stewart: Scottish Premiership was won by Celtic in last Rangers showdown
Michael Stewart has declared that the Scottish Premiership race was decided back in January with the 2-2 draw between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox and the Old Firm meeting on Saturday will have no bearing on the conclusion of the season.
The BBC pundit believes that Celtic are already champions in waiting already despite eight games still to be played over the coming weeks.
A Rangers win at Parkhead would be a superb result to make things interesting but Ange Postecoglou’s side would remain in a strong position to get the job done. Anything other than an away victory on Saturday would make the rest of the league campaign a formality. It’s as simple as that.
Speaking on BBC Sportscene [02 April], Stewart pinpointed the specific moment where the league was done and dusted as Kyogo smashed home late on at Ibrox.
“That goal from Kyogo, the late equaliser,” he said. “For me, that is when the league was won, because there is no danger that Celtic were going to drop nine points more than Rangers.
“Now, Rangers are a different beast since the last game at Celtic Park. Michael Beale has come in, he’s steadied the ship, he’s making progress with them.
“Celtic are the benchmark and when you compare the two, I’ve already spoken about this, the intensity is the difference, Rangers don’t have that for me. The one criticism of Michael Beale’s side, especially when he first took over, they were getting results but the intensity wasn’t there.”
Uncomfortable truth
You know what? Stewart is correct for once. It is as annoying as it is frustrating but the situation in the league is almost certain not to change.
The Gers have put together a very decent string of results under Beale but the verve and flair are still not there as was reflected again on Saturday against Dundee United. In terms of consistency, that has been a familiar pattern at Ibrox whilst, across the city, our rivals have been more dominant and convincing.
Of course, Rangers can get a result against Celtic but even if the first victory at Parkhead since October 2020 is secured, there would be a requirement for Postecoglou’s team to drop a further six points, at least.
Given the significant disparity with the rest of the league at present, there is very little chance of that happening, no matter what happens in our rivals’ backyard next week.