Just as Dave King predicted, Celtic are doing everything they can to hamper their own chances of winning the Scottish Premiership and Rangers legend, Brian Laudrup, has pinpointed why they have imploded so spectacularly.
Writing in his Daily Mail column and reported by The Herald, Laudrup has identified the mentality flaw that is eating those of a green and white persuasion alive from the inside.
So what has Laudrup said?
Looking at the East End side’s travails and what he thinks they have done wrong, he said:
“To me, part of the problem in Celtic’s current circumstance is that, for a long time, all the hype has been solely about 10-in-a-row not the process of how you get there and what you have to do to win it.
“It has almost been viewed as an event that will happen rather than an achievement to be earned. The relentless nature of that talk has really got to some people.
“There was hype in season 1997-98 when Rangers were trying to win ten-in-a-row. Of course there was. And we didn’t do enough to get over the line in the end.
“However, the situation with Celtic this season feels different. Perhaps it’s the social-media age, I don’t know. But the fact they have fallen behind in the league even with so long left in the season and a chance to recover seems to have led to an implosion.
“One that has taken in the manager, the players and, judging from the scenes on Sunday, some supporters.”
So is Laudrup correct?
Absolutely, they thought they had “10” won before they had seven or eight in the bag, and the Great Dane knows all too well how quickly it can come crashing down around you after being part of the Rangers team that allowed Celtic to pip Walter Smith’s side to a truly historic 10-in-a-row in the late 90’s.
As Rangers fans we need to remember that in reality we are only five points clear at the top of the league with three Old Firm games still to come this season, we can enjoy their current situation, but be mindful of getting carried away – bigger leads have been lost in a lot fewer games.
Steven Gerrard needs to keep his side focussed on the task in hand, each game as it comes, and every other cliché in the book so that we can reclaim what is rightfully ours, consigning a “run” of title victories that are as tainted as they are forgettable to the history books.