GER GOING TO HAVE TO DO A LOT BETTER OPERATION NOCK & AWE
Hoops destroy league leaders and put a rocket up the pretenders to their throne
Dundee Rangers
1 1 STEVEN GERRARD last night laid into his Rangers flops after his side were held to a draw by 10-men Dundee at Dens Park.
Ibrox boss Gerrard (above) hit out at the dismal show from his side in the 1-1 stalemate.
Kenny Miller stuck the knife into his old team with the opening goal before a red card for Nathan Ralph opened the way for Andy Halliday to score with a rasping free-kick.
But Gerrard was fizzing at the way his team failed to cash in on the one-man advantage and missed the chance to join Celtic at the top of the Premiership pile.
He said: “The last two performances have been really poor and I take responsibility for that.
“Seven days ago we were top and it’s looking like we have Rangers players who can handle the responsibility of being a Rangers player.
“The last two performances don’t look like us and the team I’m trying to build.
“Individuals are not stepping up and playing at a level that is acceptable.” Forrest 5, 67, Edouard 25, Lustig 35, Christie 45: Brophy 52 CALLUM MCGREGOR last night warned the rest of the Premiership that writing off Celtic can lead to the kind of performances that destroyed Kilmarnock.
Brendan Rodgers’ outfit returned to the top of the table with a 5-1 demolition of a Killie side that was at the summit before a ball was kicked at the weekend.
Goals from Odsonne Edouard, Mikael Lustig, Ryan Christie and a double from man of the match James Forrest put the Ayrshire men firmly in their place.
And midfielder Mcgregor admitted Celtic were fired up by facing a team above them in the league – and by criticism of their midweek draw against Motherwell.
He said: “I think we do like a challenge. When people say we can’t do things, then we normally come back strong.
“The manager said before the game that we had a point to prove and we did that fairly emphatically.
“It was a great firsthalf performance and then we get a fifth goal after losing one.
“We were calm and it was a good day for us.
“You could feel an edge and when you W 10 9 9 9 8 7 7 6 4 4 2 2 score early, the crowd are up and it takes you to a different gear.
“The football was amazing at times, along with the standard of finishing. We got a buzz after scoring early and we put Killie on the back foot.
“They have been going well but they came here and couldn’t really handle us at times.
“We do tend to bounce back well and that was a great performance and result.”
Scott Brown might have been reduced to a bit-part player in recent weeks but the man who grabbed his spot is adamant the skipper’s still the biggest influence in Celtic’s dressing room.
Mcgregor has played an astonishing 38 games this season but in the past month has excelled in the midfield anchor role.
The Hoops excelled again with Mcgregor pulling the strings in midfield from a deeper position and Brown had to make do with another late cameo off the bench.
But Mcgregor said: “I’m sure Broony will get back in the team. He’s been a massive player for Celtic for years.
“It will change eventually. You can’t keep winning 5-0 or 6-0 every week, and then people look for reasons.
“The team will change but we are a group and a collective.
“Everybody knows how good a player Broony is.
“The team has been playing well and it’s always a tough one for the manager to pick the side.” D 3 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 3 1 3 3 L F A 2 36 8 3 38 14 4 25 17 5 23 19 4 20 20 5 17 13 5 17 15 5 26 19 9 16 26 12 12 37 11 13 33 12 12 34