Wilson insists Rangers can still keep pace with Celtic
Defender refuses to concede that city rivals have gained an unassailable early advantage in race for title
DANNY WILSON has dismissed suggestions Celtic are out of sight of Rangers in the Ladbrokes Premiership and insisted the Ibrox club could be “breathing down their necks” in a couple of months.
Mark Warburton’s side was thrashed 5-1 by Brendan Rodgers’s team in the opening Glasgow derby match of the 2016/17 campaign at Parkhead last month.
The Championship winners, who are playing in the top flight for the first time in four years, are currently seven points adrift of the defending Scottish champions, who have a game in hand.
But Wilson said: “You look at it now and we’re not in a great position and obviously everything would point towards favouring Celtic.
“But it’s very early, we’ve got a lot of games left and no doubt they will drop points and no doubt we’ll drop points over the course of the season.
“Hopefully we get some more points on the board and in a couple of months down the line we’ll be breathing down their necks.”
Wilson’s early appearances for Rangers as a youngster of just 17 back in 2009 were made considerably easier by the steadying influence of Davie Weir, some 22 years his senior, alongside him.
The 39-year-old centre-half guided his teenage protégé through games, including Champions League group matches against Unirea Urziceni and Stuttgart and an Old Firm derby with Celtic at Parkhead, during his debut season. The former Everton player deserved great credit for his promising teammate flourishing and winning a £2 million move to Liverpool at the end of his first campaign in the senior game.
Wilson, in the second season of his second spell at the Ibrox club, is older and far more experienced now and has no requirement for a chaperone to advise, encourage and protect him in his first team appearances.
Nevertheless, the presence of Clint Hill, a grizzled veteran of 37 whose career in his native England has spanned three decades, in the heart of the Rangers rearguard has been welcomed.
The pair have played together for Mark Warburton’s side in the last three games and the Scot believes, despite the loss to Aberdeen last weekend, the partnership is showing promise.
The tendency of the Rangers defence to concede costly soft goals – including last season when they romped to the second tier title – has been a concern with supporters for some time.
Are Hill and Wilson the solution to a long-term problem? One half of the dynamic duo certainly believes they are developing an understanding that could prove fruitful for the Govan club.
“Clint’s played at a good level all his career,” he said. “He’s a good professional, he knows the game, he’s a very good communicator and I feel in the games that we’ve played together we’ve done really well.
“I’m happy playing alongside him. Obviously it’s a bit alien me playing on the right side with me being very leftfooted, but it’s just one of those things we’ve got on with and tried to strike a balance.
“I think there are a lot of comparisons between Davie and I. Davie was a big help to me. But I think I’m a lot more mature player than I was back then.
“I didn’t want at the time when I played with Davie to be a burden for him and I certainly don’t want that with Clint, so hopefully we help each other just as much.”
Warburton’s distaste for route one football has been questioned once again this season as his team, who take on Partick Thistle at home this afternoon, has won just two of their seven Premiership matches.
The attractive football which he insists upon endeavouring to produce has, to date, failed to produce the desired results in the top flight. The tendency for the full-backs to overlap has often left the centre-halves exposed.
Wilson, though, believes they are right to persevere with their approach.
“People say ‘why don’t you do this’ or ‘why don’t you do that’ in terms of staying more solid,” he said. “We’ve looked at things that can try and help us.
“But we believe we’re a team best suited to getting the ball down, moving it quickly and getting on the attack. We play with attacking intent.
“Of course we are always looking at ways to stop conceding goals and areas where we can be more solid, but we’re not just going to change our entire style of play.”
Rob Kiernan, Hill, Philippe Senderos and Wilson have all played at centre-back for Rangers at various times of the season and the latter is hopeful that having a settled back four could help with consistency. “It might help,” he said.
“It’s been me and Clint for the last couple of games and if that can continue to progress then great.”
Meanwhile, the kick-off time for the Ladbrokes Premiership match between Rangers and Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Ibrox on Christmas Eve has been moved from 3pm to 12.30pm at the request of both clubs.