Gerrard said he was too angry to speak after cup shocker.. but he should have told his players they were a bunch of bottlers instead
RED-HOT Aberdeen’s superb performance at Ibrox on Tuesday against a powder puff Rangers means the Old Firm will not clash in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
But once the last ball is kicked this season both clubs are in for a huge summer off the pitch.
Steven Gerrard said he came to Glasgow to win trophies and following their replay defeat that isn’t going to happen unless Celtic collapse in the league.
Indeed, unless Rangers can do the impossible and snatch the title then this season – apart from qualifying for the Europa League – has to go down as another to forget for such a big club.
My team, my responsibility, said Gerrard after the humiliation against Aberdeen.
The Ibrox manager does front up and says it like it is so it was a surprise to hear him admit he was too angry to speak to the players after the 2-0 loss.
Maybe the better option would have been to get stuck into a group of players he has trusted and shown faith in, telling them what a bunch of bottle merchants they were once again when it really mattered.
This is Gerrard’s team. I’m not so sure Walter Smith would have let his players away with such a poor display when the heat was on.
Rangers were like lambs to the slaughter when it mattered. And it makes this summer very interesting for them.
Dave King backed his manager big with a huge overhaul. But the end of this season may well see Alfredo Morelos leave and, with Jermain Defoe benchwarming in the main, why would he want to stay?
Chuck in the possible loss of loan players Ryan Kent and Joe Worrall and there seems to be plenty of work to do. Jordan Jones comes in but is he an upgrade on Kent?
Motherwell’s Jake Hastie looks a good prospect but will he take Rangers to the next level as quickly as they want?
Then there is the question of whether Rangers have the money to go again after heavily supporting their manager in January.
King has backed Gerrard so far, of that there is no doubt. But they may have to cash in on saleable assets like Morelos and James Tavernier to go again.
And with that lies the risk of whether they can be replaced with as good, if not better, quality.
On the other side of the city Celtic have all sorts of work to do, starting with appointing a new permanent manager. Ally that with a very poor summer of recruitment last season and there is work to do. From Celtic’s point of view lessons should be learned. Now is the time to show Rangers they aren’t going to give them a sniff from here on in. First up Celtic are in need of a reliable centre-forward. It’s remarkable the club are on for a Treble without a centre-forward who has consistently stepped up and who can play the No.9 role as it should be played. The imminent departure of Dedryck Boyata, as well as Filip Benkovic returning to parent club Leicester, means Celtic need to recruit in central defence.
And while Aberdeen fans may not thank me for it, Celtic should buy the best centreback in the country this season in Scott McKenna.
He may not be a ball-playing defender but the good thing is he knows it and keeps it simple.
Ask the 22-year-old to defend and do the basics and he does it better than anyone.
If you want someone who will head, run, put the ball in row Z
This is Gerrard’s team. I’m not so sure Walter would’ve let them away with such a poor display when heat was on
occasionally when it’s required coupled with sheer guts, will to win and reliability then McKenna is your man.
But Celtic need to stump up and pay the going rate.
There has to be a realisation they have been papering over the cracks for much of this season in terms of performance level and need to kickstart.
Neil Lennon has said he needs to complete the Treble to land the job on a full-time basis but I don’t necessarily agree with that.
There just has to be a level of confidence shown and to get Celtic over the line in the league in decent style. It’s not easy to take over the job in the circumstances and Neil has everything to lose.
Brendan Rodgers dumped it on him, essentially saying his job was done – he should have seen it through. The fact he didn’t puts pressure on his successor because he can only let it slip.
I’m told one or two people were groaning after the goalless draw with Aberdeen last weekend.
But I defy anyone to tell me it has been unbelievable football this season under Rodgers.
If you strip things back Celtic haven’t been at it performancewise this campaign, albeit they’ve got themselves into a fantastic position. Take the Old Firm headto-heads, for example. In recent seasons they’ve blown their rivals away but they were outplayed at Ibrox under Rodgers in December.
It’s difficult to criticise someone who won seven trophies on the trot but looking at things honestly, we have to say performances could have been better.
Neil will be focusing on tomorrow’s trip to Dundee and while the Dark Blues have improved under Jim McIntyre you’d expect Celtic to get three points. They still have work to do in the league but if you’re looking across the city to a challenge from Rangers then they’d need to win two remaining Old Firm games plus everything else. That’s a tall order. After that it’s down to the Cup and Aberdeen in the semi-final.
They beat Celtic in the final game of last season at Parkhead and Derek McInnes’ side will be disappointed with some of their Hampden displays against them.
I have a lot of admiration for the way Aberdeen have gone about their business in the last couple of games – they won at Ibrox with three kids in the team.
You can’t rule anything out in the last four and Celtic, although history tells us they’ll fancy themselves, will have to be at it as anything can happen in a one-off game.