‘Celtic fans will turn quickly and harshly on their team if they lose’
Former Ibrox star CRAIG MOORE tips Clement to lead Rangers to derby glory ... then onwards to the title
ABIT like Ange Postecoglou, his pal, former coaching colleague and fellow countryman, Craig Moore isn’t backward about coming forward. The former Rangers defender shares the uncompromising style of the former Celtic manager as he tackles key questions surrounding today’s title showdown at Ibrox.
Moore can’t see his old team being caught in the race to the Premiership finishing line if they can sink Celtic today and follow up with a win at Dundee on Wednesday.
Even if they can’t claim all three points in the Old Firm game, the former Socceroo still thinks Rangers are on course to be champions.
It’s different for Celtic, he says. Last season’s Treble winners can’t afford to lose, and he reckons their supporters will turn against them if they do.
Moore shared in 13 major trophy triumphs during his two spells in Glasgow and firmly believes Rangers are on the brink of completing a remarkable title turnaround — with the fate of Philippe Clement and his team very much in their own hands.
‘I do believe that Rangers are in the driving seat,’ says Moore. ‘That doesn’t mean I’m not wary or still concerned about Celtic, because they’re a very good side with some really good attacking options that are very dangerous.
‘In regards to this particular match, I think
Intensity that Ange brought to the team over the last couple of years has gone
if Rangers were to beat Celtic at Ibrox, then win the rescheduled match at Dens Park, I would find it very, very hard to imagine they’d be reeled back in. But if Celtic were to get the victory, that puts them in pole position.
‘So this game is as big as … well, every Old Firm game we talk about, we say it’s bigger than the last one. I just feel, even if Rangers weren’t able to win here, I still think everything is set up to be right behind the team until the very last minute. Whereas, if Celtic lose, I think their fans will turn quickly and harshly on their team.’
Moore certainly feels that the Parkhead side have not been the same since Postecoglou swapped two years of domestic domination in Scottish football for the challenge of hauling Spurs back to the upper reaches of the English game.
They went for the tried and trusted in Brendan Rodgers but Moore isn’t seeing the same levels as demanded by his fellow Aussie.
‘Celtic have changed. There’s no doubt about that,’ he insists. ‘That intensity, that relentlessness they have had for the last couple of years has gone.’
There’s been no let-up for the Celtic squad in the last two seasons. They have won five of the six big domestic prizes, playing their fullon brand of football. Influential midfielder Reo Hatate is just back after a lengthy injury absence. Cameron Carter-Vickers, the cornerstone of the Celtic defence, has been in and out. Captain Callum McGregor is expected to return today after a rare spell on the sidelines.
There could be an argument that they have been suffering from burnout this season, but Moore clearly feels the change in manager has had its own effect. On the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi in particular.
‘I think it’s actually just the way Brendan (Rodgers) and his teams have played wherever he’s been,’ adds Moore. ‘It’s a little bit more patient. It’s not necessarily that gung-ho kind of way and that we’ve seen previously. Ange was very big on tempo and I think Brendan is very big on control, possession, wherever it is on the pitch. I think probably the clearest difference, outwith the intensity, is that Kyogo is being asked to do something completely different to what was wanted under the previous Supply from the wide areas is not what it was for Celtic. With one big contributor, Jota, sold last summer while, more recently, they parted company with another highlyproductive winger, Liel Abada. Defensively, Liam Scales has performed admirably but their recruitment has failed to come up with a quality replacement for centre-back Carl Starfelt. Moore, for his part, is surprised that Rodgers returned to the club unaccompanied by any significant signings. He says: ‘I was thinking the whole reason for him coming back was the opportunity to continue on the back of what Ange had done and to be able to bring in his own players. ‘I guess it’s been a bit of a surprise the way it’s played out. But let’s not get away from the fact that Celtic have a very good squad as it is. Although I think he would certainly have liked to have been able to do a little bit more with some of the targets he clearly had his eyes on.’
At Rangers, Clement has been, similarly, unable to make major squad changes since replacing Michael Beale in October. Three new additions arrived in
January, two on loan. But by then the former Club Brugge and Monaco manager had already masterminded an amazing transformation in Rangers’ performances and results.
One game in particular, against Hearts, showed Moore that his old team had appointed the right kind of manager. He has also seen shades of what Postecoglou was doing at Celtic last season in the Belgian’s approach to the game.
‘Obviously at the time of his appointment, Rangers were rock bottom,’ says Moore. ‘Confidence as low as it could get. So what you needed was someone to come in and get results to build belief.
‘In his second league game in charge, at home against Hearts, they were 1-0 down and scored two very late goals to win. I thought that was a huge moment at the time. And I still think it’s a massive moment. It allowed everybody to buy into what he was all about, the standards he was wanting to set and the intensity he wanted his players to take on board.
‘The performance against Hearts showed a resilience about the team. It showed a new toughness about them and that was only three weeks after losing to Aberdeen at Ibrox
when they collapsed at the back end of Michael’s time in charge.
‘With any season you can look back on certain moments that give you the strength to go on and be successful — and I look at that Hearts game because, if Rangers had lost, it would have been very hard to get the buy-in of the players and even more so, the fans at that time.
‘Basically, a very good manager has come into the building and he understood what was required.
‘I think there was a lot that he liked about what was there and what could be worked on in terms of trying to rebuild and recreate that family feel, that togetherness.
‘What he’s been able to do is rebuild the confidence of many players because it wasn’t one or two who were affected — it was double figures.
‘So that’s already an amazing job to be able to do that. And this is someone who’s had his problems with his squad’s injuries but he’s rotated his players and shown he has different ways to win a game of football.
‘He’s not afraid to be direct. I don’t mean a long ball game but looking to get up the park as quickly as possible and still in a way that Rangers are able to play. We all like to see beautiful football but if it has to be ugly and he gets three points he’ll take that as well.
‘He’s been able to get a tune out of lots of players. He’s continued to strengthen the squad, both physically — his words — and in terms of their mental toughness so they could play with the intensity he demands.
‘Maybe at times the football was a little bit too patient. We need to have the ability to overwhelm the opposition. The kind of things that were in place across the other side of the city if I’m honest. That hunger and desire to be able to run and compete faster, stronger, longer than the opposition.
‘Momentum built with every game and confidence grew among the players. Even (Cyriel) Dessers who’s been very much a slow-burn and needs to keep improving. But he shows a real honesty, he’s an unselfish player. And those are the sort of qualities that seem to be spread throughout the club.
‘It’s not about one player, it’s about everybody bringing an effort to help one another.’
Rangers were seven points behind Celtic after the first seven league games and were being written off. They were eight points behind at the turn of the year after losing at Celtic Park albeit with two games in hand.
Moore reckons this would be one of the most amazing title wins if Rangers can pull it off.
‘I think so,’ he says. ‘Let’s not forget this team are still in with a chance of winning a Treble.
‘And I know Celtic are still in with a chance of winning a double. However, there was that seven or eight-point deficit, and you think about where Rangers were with their whole squad apart from Jack Butland, who was flying.
‘There were question marks about every other player’s performance and confidence.
‘Therefore, that turnaround with Clement building so many players back up and getting the team back in the title hunt, has put them in a wonderful position.
‘There’s still scope for twists and turns. Then, when you get to the split, the desire for both Rangers and Celtic should be enough to see them get through their fixtures against other clubs.
‘So do we then go into the next Old Firm game with it being the biggest? That’s what I love about Glasgow and this match.’