Rangers won’t catch Celtic in Scottish Premiership even with Old Firm victory – Paul Lambert
Paul Lambert believes that Rangers won’t catch Celtic in the Scottish Premiership even if they defeat their Old Firm rivals at Celtic Park on Saturday (8 April).
Michael Beale has been unable to close the nine-point gap to the Hoops since arriving at Ibrox in November, despite recording an unbeaten Scottish Premiership record and only dropping points in the reverse Old Firm clash at Ibrox that ended in a 2-2 draw.
Writing for the BBC Sport website, former Celtic player Lambert admitted that Ange Postecoglou’s side are a cut above the Gers and that the Rangers faithful wouldn’t accept a performance in the ilk of the Viaplay Cup final defeat earlier this season.
“My view is Rangers won’t catch Celtic even if they get a result this weekend, but I don’t see them winning on Saturday anyway,” he said.
“Ange’s side looks too strong and have a way of playing that is now second nature. Michael Beale knows Rangers have to get Celtic in their sights to apply a bit of pressure on them – but doing that is going to be tough.
“I was at the Viaplay Cup final and Rangers didn’t lay a glove on them until they had to in the final 20 minutes. It was so one-sided in the first half, it was only when Rangers got the goal that they decided to give it a go. I don’t think Rangers fans will accept that this time, although they won’t be inside Celtic Park to see it.
“With Celtic being at home and with no away support, all of the crowd will feel the league title is over if they get any sort of positive result.”
Benchmark
Celtic have certainly set the bar for Rangers to strive for, and Saturday’s clash is yet another chance for Beale’s team to highlight the vast improvements they have made in the last month.
The 2-1 defeat at Hampden Park was a tough blow to the positive feeling around Ibrox, but since then, both January signings Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin have been fully blooded into the side.
The two new recruits, alongside the bang-in-form Malik Tillman, could pose the Hoops a real danger in the final third, but Beale must be careful to strike the right balance in order not to be caught napping in transition.
Lambert is probably right that Celtic will win the Scottish Premiership even if the Gers claim victory this weekend, but it could be a massive phycological boost if they claim three points at Celtic Park without any travelling support.
Such a win could give the Gers the mental edge ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final clash on 30 April and land a counterpunch as both teams look ahead to the 2023/24 season.
In other Rangers news, a well-placed for Ibrox favourite could be set to help the club secure a potentially game-changing signing.