15 INA ROW
Lisbon Lion Jim: Rangers don’t have the financial firepower to halt Hoops’ title bandwagon winning
LISBON Lion Jim Craig believes that Celtic could win 15 titles in a row, given the lack of financial muscle available to any other team in the league.
Rangers left Celtic Park with a credible draw on Sunday afternoon, a result that allowed new manager Pedro Caixinha to go into a media unveiling yesterday that was far more positive than it might otherwise have been.
However, while the new Rangers boss will look to make an immediate impact at Ibrox, Craig believes that without genuine and significant financial input, it is impossible for anyone to live with Celtic.
“The big problem for Brendan is that there is no-one in Scotland who has the money to come out and challenge Celtic for the title,” said Craig.
“That is why Celtic can win it 15 times! I don’t think Rangers have the means to suddenly mount a challenge.
“It is a different matter in a month’s time when you are playing in a Cup, in a one-off game like that, there is always a chance. I watched Barca v PSG and when PSG scored I turned it over to watch Man City…we know how that ended up.
“They have brought in a guy who obviously has something the people who are running Rangers have been attracted to.
“He has had other clubs too so the boy has something in his make-up that they think is going to work. Whether he has the personnel to put that into operation, I don’t know.
“I also don’t know whether Rangers have the money to buy the players he would need. Now, they will have promised him money but I would love to know where they are going to get it from.
“I anticipate that Celtic will win the title for at least the next five or six years, no doubt about it. You can’t turn a team round right away without financial input and I am not so sure they have got the money – or who is going to put the money up.
“I am reading between the lines here, but the boy Dave King came in and talked a good game but itt would seem that he is backtracking racking a bit.”
Celtic will face Rangers at Hampden en next month in the semi-final inal of the William Hill Scottish Cup, a game that promises a little bite given the lingering feeling the Parkheadarkhead side were left with ith yesterday that hat they oughtt to have had da a last-minute ute penalty.
In any y case, whethher or not they become only the fourth t- Celtic team to win a domestic Tr Treble in .“the 130-year-history130-year of the club, C Craig believes that in the current clim climate the real currency lies in not turning it on dom mestically ly, but r rubbing s should ders with Europe’s elite in the lucrative environment of the Uefa Champions League.
“The next thing for Brendan is that Celtic have got to be in the group stages of the Champions League every season and that is what he has to look to do,” said Craig.
“You don’t get anything other than a bit of prestige for winning a Treble. The boy Jason Cundy (on TalkSPORT) was opening his mouth but there are a lot of people who think along the same lines about the quality in Scotland. If you have a look through the teams, they are all struggling financially one way or another, so how do they mount a challenge?”
MEANWHILE, Craig’s fellow Lion John Clark who is currently in charge of the kit organisation at Lennoxtown believes that it will be a different Celtic side on display at the national stadium next month when the team meet for the fifth team this term.
“Trebles are rare so I think you will see a real motivation,” said Clark. “They played good football at times on Sunday but that wee bit of determination wasn’t there at times but they were the better team. You’ll see a huge difference in the semi-final.
“When you play Rangers, it doesn’t matter what you think – and we saw all sorts in the paper beforehand about what the score was going to be – but no matter which Rangers team you play they are a team who are out to play with a bit of
pride for their club. But I think you will see a different Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
“I thought Rangers were up for it in the second-half but Celtic played the better football. It will be a different game in the Cup game. I think you’ll see Celtic fired-up for that one.”
Clark has overseen the progress of Kieran Tierney at the club and, like Rodgers, he believes the player has the necessary temperament to forge a solid career in the game.
Tierney has continued where he left off last term with another impressive campaign and it is the player’s willingness to stay focused that Clark believes will be instrumental to his continued progression.
“He started off as a wide left player before people saw something different in him,” he said. “To be fair to the boy he has really come on – I’d say he is probably the most improved player in Scottish football.
“He has a good determination about him, he has a good leftfoot and good fitness. If he keeps his feet on the ground he will have a good career ahead of him. He is a level-headed boy. He hasn’t got carried away with himself.
“Managers will keep your feet on the ground and Brendan is a good manager. He wants to see the players do well in their lives and he’ll make sure they are going in the same direction.”
Rodgers recently called for the Lions to be knighted in recognition for their services to football, something that gave Clark a wry chuckle.
“It is a bit of a question that, isn’t it?” he smiled. “Personally speaking, I always felt that Jock Stein ought to have had some knighthood.
“If it comes off then he has a bit of magic about himself, that is all I will say. He must have a wand, so we will leave it with him.”