AS the season boils down to the final game for the third time in five years, I have to say it is very much advantage Celtic.
AS the season boils down to the final game for the third time in five years, I have to say it is very much advantage Celtic.
Rangers drew level on points with their Old Firm rivals by virtue of a plucky 3-0 win over St Mirren in the rearranged SPL match at Love Street last night.
Although the margin of victory reduced the superior goal difference the Hoops have the gap is, realistically, still too great for them to bridge.
Forget talk of tiredness . . . Gers will be up for CupPLAYING three games in eight days before a Scottish Cup Final is hardly ideal preparation, not to mention playing your final league match against Aberdeen up at Pittodrie just two days beforehand.However, I would still expect Walter Smith's boys to comfortably overcome their First Division opponents Queen of the South and complete either a domestic Double or Treble. Queens are expecting to take around 10,000 fans to Hampden and I am sure everyone associated with the Dumfries club will enjoy their big day out in Glasgow. But if Rangers lose this one it will be as big a cup shocker as getting beaten by Hamilton way back in 1987 or even losing to Berwick Rangers in 1967. The Ibrox club's players are all exhausted and have a punishing run of games this week. But the chance to land some more silverware will ensure they are all up for this one. I don't think Walter has to worry about resting players for the game with the Dons on Thursday evening. With so much at stake, he will choose the strongest team available to him. Winning the SPL, after three barren years, has been the top priority for Rangers this season. A lot of fans feel reclaiming the Scottish crown from Celtic was more important than doing well in Europe. Even if a key player picks up an injury against Jimmy Calderwood's side Walter has enough strength in depth to be able to bring in adequate cover. Charlie Adam, Lee McCulloch and even DaMarcus Beasley are all fit again and could be involved at some stage in proceedings. But, even if that trio don't come into the starting line-up, the players who do get chosen will be right up for the game with Queen of the South. |
No, Walter Smith's side need to beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Thursday night and hope that Celtic draw or lose to Dundee United at Tannadice to win the title.
Alternatively, if the Gers draw with the Dons and their city foes lose to the Arabs, then they will be crowned Scottish champions for the first time since 2005.
But, getting a result against Jimmy Calderwood's men will not be easy and the side which is selected will need to focus on their own game first and foremost.
Forget about margins of victory. I don't think the number of goals scored will come into it. Rangers just need to take care of their own game. The fans will let them know how things are going elsewhere.
Getting a result against United will, of course, be no easy feat for Gordon Strachan's men in what will be their first league match in 12 days.
Under Craig Levein, the Tangerines have, for me, been one of the best teams in Scotland on their day in the 2007/08 campaign and were unlucky to miss out on Europe.
Rangers have certainly struggled on Tayside in recent months and were lucky to escape with a 3-3 draw the last time they played there. But at least Celtic's fate, unlike that of Rangers, is very much in their own hands.
They don't need to rely on other results going their way any more. I also think the sad death of Tommy Burns will spur the Celtic players on to get the result they need and complete a hat-trick of SPL triumphs.
Walter did the right thing last night by going for goals with an attacking 4-4-2 formation and fielding Kris Boyd and Jean-Claude Darcheville up front with Nacho Novo out wide.
Boyd repaid his manager for giving him a start in four minutes by putting his side in front with a typically opportunist effort after good work out wide by Kirk Broadfoot.
And Darche did what he had failed to do in the Uefa Cup Final in Manchester last week by firing in two goals and, in fact, coming very close to bagging a hat-trick.
The hitman would have taken his tally to three if the woodwork hadn't prevented his spectacular overhead kick in the first half going in.
After 20 minutes, Rangers were two goals up and a lot of people were thinking they were going to run up a big score which would get them right back in the title race. But they ran out of steam.
I think the specialist fitness coach at Rangers, Adam Owen, deserves great praise for the condition the players are in entering the final week of the season.
They pummelled St Mirren last night and they were still going in the final minutes.
That is incredible given that guys like Barry Ferguson have, if you include pre-season friendlies, played over 70 games this season.
Morons outwith Rangers control
AS I strolled through Manchester last Tuesday morning, Rangers fans were everywhere enjoying themselves, singing and dancing, having a laugh with the police, sitting in the sun having a few beers.
There was a fantastic atmosphere. So it was a tragedy that a couple of hundred thugs, intent on trouble, infiltrated a crowd of around 200,000 and wreaked havoc.
TV footage and newspaper pictures showed these numpties, scarves covering their faces, had no intention of going to watch the football.
What on earth could Rangers do about that? It was a situation totally outwith their control.
These fools must be identified and banned from every ground in Europe.
As for the Uefa Cup Final itself? I thought Rangers did all they could, but were beaten by the better side.
Most of us knew exactly how the game would pan out. Zenit had the majority of the ball, Rangers sat back and defended well and had a couple of half decent chances on the break. Sadly, it wasn't enough.
Zenit looked far fitter and fresher, and a few of the Rangers players had heavy legs. Their style had ground down Fiorentina, Sporting Lisbon and Werder Bremen. They couldn't grind down Zenit.
Having said that, after 70 minutes you just didn't know where the goal would come, but Zenit got a break when the ball went through Carlos Cuellar's legs.
To get to the final was a fantastic achievement, and it was a wonderful occasion for the fans.
It is such a shame the trouble tarnished the image of Rangers.
