As the dust settles on Rangers’ spectacular 2-0 win over Celtic at Celtic Park, there are plenty of bones to pick over in the aftermath.
Have Rangers laid down a statement of intent? Are Celtic feeling the pressure? Can Rangers keep their bottle heading into the second round of Scottish Premiership fixtures?
There are plenty of questions to be asked of both sides but the fact a high-profile off-field Celtic plan backfired so incredibly has not been spoken about enough.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon pleaded with the SPFL not long after the end of season voting debacle to place the first Old Firm fixture as far into the future as possible to allow in supporters.
The SPFL duly agreed to do so – whilst not obviously publicly saying so – placing the first meeting between the two as the 11th game in a division of 12 teams.
But that pressure and determination backfired spectacularly, the decision to play it in October during a spike in Covid-19 cases and a mini-lockdown ending any hope of supporters.
As a result of the game being scheduled as the 11th on the Scottish Premiership fixture list, it also had to come after a two-week international break.
Look how that turned out.
Celtic lost four players due to Covid related issues with a delusional excuse of Rangers playing a “reserve team” a convenient safety net for a support genuinely stunned into silence.
The reasons for the Rangers victory are many and Celtic now face a really difficult few weeks as they aim to prove their own title intentions and bottle.
But off the pitch just as much as on it you can see their grasp slipping.
Celtic as a club have been so publicly nervous about what’s happening between Covid, international breaks and the politics of crowds, writing statement after statement.
Rangers by contrast have expressed disappointment but seem so focused both off and on the pitch, quietly going about their business and refusing to air long-winded and pointless frustrations in public.
Because at the end of the day – what difference does it make? We’re all facing challenges, we all have to find a way to overcome them.
Rangers’ attitude has been everywhere, anywhere, every time, any time. Celtic’s has at times been the opposite.
The fact excuses are being wheeled out rather than hurdles overcome – despite the SPFL bending to their will earlier in the season – smacks of a nervousness and desperation scarcely seen at Celtic Park in recent campaigns.
There is only so much politicking you can do; you still need to perform on the pitch.
Celtic got everything they wanted in the run-up to the Old Firm – bar the blanket ban on fans being lifted – and in some kind of spectacular footballing karma got everything they deserved too.
The fact they were so desperate to have this game moved probably shows that they’ve been focusing on the wrong things whilst Rangers have closed the gap.
