As Celtic move 16 points clear after a 5-0 demolition of St. Mirren, Rangers fans take a modicum of comfort in the fact our Old Firm rivals have played two league fixtures more than us.
Should Rangers win them, it’ll take it back to what most Rangers fans will admit is a pretty unassailable 10, even with two Old Firms to go.
But with one of Rangers’ games in hand to be played tomorrow away to Ross County, could the Scottish Premiership table force the other match against St. Johnstone to be played amid an intense fixture schedule?
After Greg Docherty’s Hibs side fell to a 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen and Saints beat Livingston 1-0, it leaves a solitary point between sixth (Hibs) and seventh (St. Johnstone) [Scottish Premiership].
With the top six and bottom six set to split in three fixtures time, St. Johnstone might be relying on getting something from the Rangers match to secure the financial rewards of a top-six finish.
The entire thing stems from Rangers being forced to play a game less in December, courtesy of TV bosses selecting Rangers’ 3-0 win away to Hibs for television.
Combine that with the winter break, the crammed fixture list upon the season’s return, and the fact no-one banked on Rangers getting this far in Europe, and there is a major fixture headache.
Should Rangers get past Leverkusen it makes all of this incredibly difficult but the match may well have to be played in order to determine who gets a top-six finish who finishes in the bottom half.
It could see Rangers being forced to cram it into a run of fixtures which interrupt their European run, through no fault of the club’s.
