Celtic sent warning by John Hartson live on Sky Sports in Rangers title prediction
John Hartson has warned Celtic they cannot afford to underestimate their opponents either side of the upcoming Rangers game.
The Gers trail Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic by three points with one round of games to come before the Old Firm showdown on 11 May.
While that has been pinpointed as a title decider, Hartson pointed out that Celtic have slipped up against some of their upcoming opponents already this season.
“It’s been a really funny season the way things have panned out,” Hartson told Sky Sports News [30 April, 11:29am].
“Celtic started the season okay, but Rangers went a bit ahead after going on a really good run under Philippe Clement, then in the past couple of weeks Rangers have dropped five points and that’s opened the door for Celtic.
“Celtic have to make sure they plough through that door. They play Rangers in the split in a couple of weeks’ time – that’s going to be a huge game.
“But they also go away to Kilmarnock, who they haven’t take a result off this season in three games, and they’ve lost twice against Hearts. So everyone can talk about the Celtic and Rangers game, but it’s so important they win these other games as well.”
Rangers must focus solely on Kilmarnock match
There may just be five games remaining, but there is every chance that one or both of Celtic and Rangers will drop points in one of the other four games outside of the Old Firm.
Rangers face Kilmarnock this coming weekend and quite simply cannot afford to be distracted by the Celtic game the following weekend.
Philippe Clement could do with Hearts taking points off Celtic this weekend, and that is certainly not a far-fetched scenario on the basis of recent results between the sides.
All going to plan, the Light Blues will take maximum points from their remaining fixtures and pip Celtic to the title on a dramatic final day.
However, football works in mysterious ways so it is just a case of – and apology for the cliche – taking it one game at a time between now and the trip to Hearts on 18 May.
In other Rangers news, two Gers players have been named in Kris Boyd’s Team of the Week.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.