On Saturday, the New Year’s Eve, Rangers lost for the third time this season against their local rivals Celtic in the Old Firm derby. With the win, Celtic stretched their lead at the top of the table to 19 points with a game in hand and also retained the bragging rights of over their neighbours. However, the last encounter between the two trophy-laden Glasgow clubs was not as one-sided as the first time the two sides met this season. Rather, Rangers were the better side in the last match for a significant period of the game and also were in lead at one time but could not see it through.
Barrie McKay, the heartthrob of Rangers team, has insisted that Rangers are capable of turning the tables on Old Firm rivals Celtic and clinching derby bragging rights soon.
He said, “I think on another day we would have taken these chances and we would have won the game. That would have closed the points gap.
“We have got a great squad and a lot of great talents in the team. I think we proved [on Saturday] that we can match them and if we had taken our chances it could have been a different game.”
Well, you could hardly argue with the young Scottish winger. Rangers did have their chances and if they could have taken those, the outcome could have been much different but that is applicable to every game. Taking the chances coming their way is what makes Celtic the better team and that is why they are so far ahead in the title race. The consistency and the efficiency in their game are the reasons why they are the champions and Rangers are not.
However, McKay’s claim that Rangers can match Celtic’s level in future is quite true. Warburton led the Gers back to the Premiership only this season and they needed time to settle into the game at the top level after being absent from the scene for four long years. Out of the three times, Rangers have faced Celtic, this time they looked ready for the challenge and did a quite decent job.
By next season, we can expect Rangers boasting a much better squad depth and quality and then they can certainly match the level of Celtic. The Hoops are certainly on a whole another level right now but in some time, Rangers could very well climb up to that. Everything depends on how Warburton fares in the transfer market and more importantly in the second half of the season once club football resumes after the winter break.
