For Rangers suspended
Signs of complacency at Celts could hand Ibrox men a shot of producing big upset
can’t be trusted. Now at least with him in the stand Rangers might finish the Old Firm game with 11 players on the pitch – and they’ll need all hands on deck for this one.
I don’t go along with Frank McAvennie’s prediction of an 8-0 thrashing but the reality is that if Celtic play to their best and Rangers are off the pace then it could be a heavy defeat.
Everyone can see that but the worry for Brendan Rodgers is that his players can see it too.
In the Hogmanay game at Ibrox I sensed a feeling among the Celtic squad that they could just roll up and beat Rangers.
I’m not saying there wasn’t any structure to their play but I certainly thought they were open and lacked the discipline they’d shown in previous Old Firm games and in some of their performances in Europe.
Celtic have every right to feel they are far superior – they are – but with that confidence lurks the danger that complacency could creep in.
Even if it all comes together for Rangers I still don’t think they can go to Celtic Park and win, which makes it crucial that their new manager steers well clear of the away dugout at Parkhead.
Pedro Caixinha is expected to arrive in Scotland this morning and my fellow Record Sport columnist Barry Ferguson reckons he should march straight into the thick of the Old Firm atmosphere. I’m not so sure that’s a risk worth taking. If Rangers get a result he can take no credit, having not worked with the players in the build-up.
But in the more likely event that Celtic hammer Rangers with Caixinha on the touchline, that result will be an indelible stain on his record.
It will forever be remembered that his first game was a drubbing by their greatest rivals and that’s the reason he’d be better off sitting in the directors’ box.
From up there he’ll probably see the mess he has inherited.
Caixinha will need to be given a great deal of time and patience at Ibrox.
Whether Rangers finish second or third doesn’t make much difference because they’ll still be in Europe no matter what.
You can only judge him fairly next season because this guy has an enormous job on his hands.
Garner appears to not care where it is