It looks as though the message is finally starting to sink in that Rangers are now a decent team and pose a genuine threat to Celtic’s hopes of securing what ever title they claim to be going for.
John Hartson, speaking on the BBC and reported by The Daily Record, claims that it will take a “miracle” for Neil Lennon to catch Steven Gerrard’s side especially with an Old Firm derby on the horizon.
So what has Hartson said?
When asked about the pressure that his former teammate finds himself under, he said:
“They’ve got to pick their form up.
“It’s a huge couple of months now for Neil Lennon as Celtic try to claw back the huge deficit on Rangers. That now is the challenge.
“It might amaze a lot of people that Neil has been getting so much flak. One of the reasons the supporters are so aggrieved, and want to protest the way they have, is because this 10 In A Row bid, they feel they’re not even putting up a challenge against Rangers.
“Celtic will have to go on a remarkable run now and that might include winning at Ibrox on 2 January. Celtic probably need a small miracle now.”
So is Hartson correct?
Celtic’s Scottish Cup win from last season, last weekend, did little other than prove that they are still riddled with defensive frailties and a distinct lack of any real tactical plan.
Do Celtic need a miracle to catch us?
Yes
No
That none of their goals came from well worked moves or a build up of play won’t have gone a miss either especially when you consider they were playing against an opposition that has hardly played and are competing in Scotland’s second tier.
If, and it’s a big if, Rangers can will all their games up to and including the New Year derby, Celtic will be in seriously trouble, and it won’t just take a miracle, it will take a repeat of the events from last season that saw them handed the Scottish Premiership title with a quarter of it still to go.