There have been four Old Firm derbies this season and honours, so far, are even, only one more, potentially crucial, meeting in the league between the two sides still to come.
Interestingly though, of the two Rangers victories, one player who has so many times in the past been a thorn in Celtic’s side has not had the best of seasons against our most bitter rivals, Alan McGregor yet to be on the winning side when he has been on the park.
It seems a lifetime ago that Robby McCrorie lined up between the sticks and kept a clean sheet as Filip Helander’s bullet header secured all three points and with Jon McLaughlin adding a calmness and authority that has been missing in the last two games on Sunday, perhaps it is time to make the change permanently.
McGregor had a mixed bag in the 3-0 defeat at Parkhead in a game that summed up his season, yes, he made some outstanding saves but refusing to leave his line and his questionable positioning were contributory factors in the goals we lost, at Hampden, there was never any sign of panic in the defence other than when one corner broke kindly for Cameron Carter-Vickers who duly scudded his effort off McLaughlin’s cross bar.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has a decision to make, if we want to implement the same tactics than McLaughlin has to be given the nod for the remainder of the season, his ability to sweep up behind the defence and clear the danger as well as play out from the back is a huge asset, when you look at some of the points we have dropped this season, it’s only a shame that the decision wasn’t made sooner.