PREPARE FOR A BATTLE ROYALE!
THE TITLE RACE
Can Steven Gerrard derail Celtic’s bid for nine in a row? Can Motherwell gatecrash the top six? And who will be fighting it out among the dead men? Sky pundit Andy Walker gives Sportsmail his verdict on all of the burning issues in the SPFL Premiership this season...
STEVEN GERRARD’S close season was a few minutes old when he enjoyed a spectacularly promising development. As the Rangers team bus drew away from Rugby Park following the final game, Steve Clarke effectively made a farewell speech.
What a result. Better, certainly, than the four Rangers accrued against Clarke’s Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership. Two points out of 12 for Gerrard in opposition to his former Liverpool first-team coach. Rangers lost both Rugby Park ties 2-1 and drew twice 1-1 at Ibrox. No wonder Gerrard wished Clarke well before his nemesis was fitted for an SFA blazer.
Of course, Killie were only one of the problem areas encountered by Gerrard. Albeit they were a sizeable one as Rangers trailed by nine points in the final standings to a Celtic team that defeated Kilmarnock on three occasions.
As Gerrard set off to find fixes for all the little issues holding Rangers back in their pursuit of a title, Clarke exiting was a free gift.
Then the boxes were ticked off. Creative flair in midfield addressed by Joe Aribo. A defensive upgrade in a cast-iron Swedish international Filip Helander (below) instead of a loan kid Joe Worrall for the heart of defence.
The ill-discipline that undermined so much good work? There is a watching brief on that one — for as long as Alfredo Morelos remains at the club. So will each improvement and development prove enough?
Rangers could correct all these departments, better their 78-point haul yet still draw up short of Celtic. And that is the scenario Sky Sports expert Andy Walker views on the horizon for this fascinating Premiership title race.
‘It’s possible Rangers could beat Celtic over 38 games but I don’t think it will happen,’ said Walker, back in the booth next Sunday for Sky when Gerrard and Rangers tackle Killie and their new boss Angelo Alessio in Ayrshire.
‘Rangers will be better this year. But Celtic still have the stronger squad and finances. Rangers can’t come close to spending £7million on a player, as Celtic did in Christopher Jullien. While doing that is no guarantee of success, it shows Celtic can flex their muscle.
‘Then there’s the one thing you cannot question at Celtic: mentality. When Rangers drew level at Christmas, it was Celtic’s mentality that set them apart. It wasn’t always good to watch but it was about getting the job done.
‘And with the change of manager to Neil Lennon, it is clear that hasn’t changed.
‘That mentality has yet to be established at Rangers. So that’s what the Rangers players have to show to Steven Gerrard. This really strong mentality that no matter what happens, you win the game.’
Rangers’ backers will hope to see signs of improvement in that area quickly. In the first two away games of last season — at Aberdeen and Motherwell — the defensive guard slipped agonisingly late on. Four points coughed up before August was out and, in the case of Pittodrie on opening day, hints that all was not well in the head of the mercurial Morelos.
‘I know they’ve a talented player in Morelos but the best bet would be to try to get as much money as you can for him,’ said Walker. ‘If he played a big game in the next few weeks, then I don’t know if Rangers could trust him.
‘Controlling games yet losing leads happened far too often. It’s important for Helander and Connor Goldson or whoever plays at the back to put down a marker very early that Rangers don’t give away cheap goals. To make it very difficult to score a goal against Rangers, never mind beat them.
‘I saw Joe Aribo a couple of times for Charlton. He has a lot to offer with creativity and energy. Ignore the nonsense that you get from Lee Bowyer — that was just typical of so many English people dismissing Scottish football.
‘You can be inspired by it. Playing in front of a huge support brings added pressure and the good players react to it. We’ve already seen that with Glen Kamara, who Rangers got for very little money.
‘With him, the football Rangers played towards the end of the season was good, creative, controlled possession. And they’ve beaten Celtic twice so, importantly, that’s not one of the concerns hanging over them.’
While Celtic are the title pick of their former striker Walker, he feels there could be early difficulties for the champions as Lennon’s new-look defence settles.
‘Celtic’s biggest concern will be defensively. There were times you looked at Celtic and thought: “The opposition will do well to score here”. But there’s been a huge turnover in such an important area.’
But it is in forward areas where Walker notes Celtic are in a different league.
‘Odsonne Edouard has proved the man for the big occasion, with some huge goals,’ said Walker. ‘I will be interested to see how often he is paired with Leigh Griffiths, whose free-kick the other night in Europe was a beautiful moment. He felt the love of the fans and his teammates after all his troubles.’