Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has bemoaned the post-Christmas fixture scheduling which sees Rangers handed a 27th December clash at Ibrox.
The SPFL fixture scheduling might be apparently random but we all know it’s really not with Rangers set to host Ross County two days after Father Christmas comes.
This will be the seventh year on the trot that Rangers get the traditional “Boxing Day” fixture but it’s something which has perturbed Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers.
With Celtic set to travel to Dundee on Boxing Day, Parkhead boss Brendan Rodgers has had a dig at the SPFL and by proxy the decision to hand Rangers another home game.
“I just saw that, we would have preferred it to stay as it was,” said Rodgers. “Especially at that time of the year. It’s interesting, I’m pretty sure I’m correct in this, the last seven years Celtic have been away at that period of the season.
“Either we’re very, very unlucky or someone is making tricks behind the scenes. It’s seven years on the spin we’ve been away at that time of the season. That’s not right for supporters so hopefully they can make it up and look at that going forward.”
Brendan Rodgers bemoans Rangers fixture luck
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers might gripe but – as Rangers fans found out back in 2020 when the first Old Firm derby of the season was placed 11th in the fixture list – the SPFL fixture generator is anything but random.
In fact the suggestion that it is an insult to the intelligence of supporters.
The dates of the Old Firm clashes as well as midweek trips to Pittodrie for Rangers and other games which draw big TV audiences are controlled in the SPFL fixture generator.
There quite simply has to be an element of control to avoid big fixtures clashes and to appease the powers that be at Sky Sports.
Rangers fans have gotten used to the post-Christmas tradition of a Boxing Day home game but Brendan Rodgers is clearly no stickler for it.
Given the Celtic manager has now gone public with his groans about the situation, we suspect the Parkhead side might well get the Boxing Day fixture on home soil next season.
With Rangers set to host the New Year’s Day Old Firm in 2025, we’re sure the SPFL will be able to find a sensible workaround.
Brendan Rodgers isn’t the only one taking issue with the SPFL’s fixture scheduling this week either, with Rangers fuming at the decision to move their away clash with Motherwell to Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, Rangers have also turned up a little pressure on Brendan Rodgers as Philippe Clement leaves Michael Stewart “astonished” after cutting the gap to five points.
