Tomorrow night's Old Firm clash at Parkhead will either seal Rangers' 52nd league title or, if Celtic win, perhaps still only delay the inevitable.
A win for Celtic is the only option and, after four Old Firm games without a victory or a goal, Gordon Strachan's men must finally rise to the challenge that an extremely well-organised Rangers team pose.

This Ibrox team can play neat and tidy football when needed but it is the passion and hunger, coupled with a steely  determination, that has set them apart from the rest this season.

Walter Smith has instilled a winning mentality into a squad that was struggling to keep up with Celtic after the abject failure of Paul Le Guen. Smith was quick to get rid of the "foreign legion" of under-achievers he inherited from Le Guen and replace them with reliable and steady performers.

'There seems little fight or fire in the Celtic team and much rearranging, selling and shopping needs to be done'


A stubborn 4-5-1 formation has been adopted by Smith in the majority of games, initially angering sections of the Ibrox support until they realised that they were on the verge of an unlikely quadruple. It would be an incredible achievement if all four trophies found their way into the cabinet inside Ibrox.

Celtic, who seem to have the unenviable habit of shooting themselves in the foot when in a position of dominance, have suffered from not knowing which midfield duo can perform what is needed at Parkhead on a regular basis.

The defence have come in for criticism and, despite having the best record in the league, deservedly so. The calibre of opposing attackers in the SPL is, quite honestly, not good. Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus are a shambles and Lee Naylor cannot pass, control or position himself properly.

It’s not a good sign compared to the reliable David Weir and Player of the Year Carlos Cuellar at Rangers. Indeed, the Rangers team are effective in a consistent fashion while Celtic are frustratingly hot and cold due the inability to find a stable and effective midfield partnership.

Sunday’s match against Motherwell saw Barry Robson and Paul Hartley give Celtic a good balance in the middle of the park matched with the right degree of aggression and positional awareness. Surely Strachan will start with this duo tomorrow night.

It’s just a shame that it has taken the suspension of the very disappointing Scott Brown to realise this. Indeed, Strachan’s failure to drop under-performing players at crucial times has infuriated the support - and baffling tactics, coupled with substitutions with only minutes remaining, have placed a huge question mark over the former Aberdeen player’s head.

While Rangers have found the secret to stabilising the club on the field thanks to the shrewd Smith, Celtic’s troubles seem to be accentuated by a growing number of fans unhappy with their manager.

Strachan was never a popular choice to succeed the Saint-like Martin O’Neill but four trophies in two seasons could not be argued with. Last 16 finishes in the Champions League were also achieved for the first time in their history. Did this paper over the cracks?

The Rangers side in Strachan’s first two seasons was terrible and Hearts made the baffling decision to get rid of George Burley when looking seriously contenders for the title.

Facts are facts and those four trophies cannot be taken away from Strachan. But another fact is that as soon as Rangers mounted a stronger challenge this season, there seemed to be no plan B.

Rangers currently have players who are leaders on the park. Celtic do not. Stephen McManus is not captaincy material. There seems little fight or fire in the Celtic team and much rearranging, selling and shopping needs to be done.

This is not a reaction that has come about solely from this season’s results. I remember saying to myself last season that it was the worst-performing Celtic side I had ever seen win a Championship.

I was baffled. The whole season was awful apart from some glorious individual goals from Shunsuke Nakamura. I wasn’t the only one thinking this. When players like Chris Killen and Massimo Donati were signed instead of a renowned goalscorer and a top-notch central defender. I was left scratching my head.

Celtic have worked hard to financially stabilise the club but surely more money could have been made available to keep the Parkhead club ahead of their rival(s)?

It seems lessons have not been learned from history. I expect Rangers to win tomorrow night in almost the same fashion as they did at Ibrox a fortnight or so ago. That is unless Strachan can find some way of counter-acting that frustratingly effective 4-5-1.

Alas, I don’t think he has it in him.

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