Celtic tighten grip on title as Rangers left gasping for air

Celtic’s 4-1 win away at Hamilton Academical was a giant step towards the Premiership title as it leaves them 7 points ahead of a struggling Rangers side.

How things can change within the space of just a month! Going into the winter break Rangers were on top of the world after having beaten Celtic in their own backyard to gain an advantage in the Premiership title race. Following the result, the narrative was that Steven Gerrard’s ‘vastly superior’ side were the favourites this season while the Hoops’ days as the dominant force in Scottish football were numbered.

Yet only a little over a month later and Celtic’s grip on the Premiership title is now tighter than it has been at any other point this season. On the other hand, Rangers have looked absolutely sluggish and out of ideas since returning from the winter break.

They managed to win their first two games in January but only barely as chinks were clearly visible in their armour. Then the first blow was delivered when bottom-placed Hearts managed to beat them last week. And then they managed only a 0-0 draw at Ibrox against Aberdeen, meaning that they had lost major ground to Celtic in the title race.

And following Celtic’s 4-1 win against Hamilton today owing to a brace from Odsonne Edouard and one each from James Forrest and Christopher Jullien, the Hoops now have Rangers very much in their rear-view mirror with a 7 point lead although they have played one game more.

Two Glasgow Derbies are yet to be played this season though, meaning Celtic cannot to show any complacency especially after the manner in which they were dominated by Steven Gerrard’s side the last two times the teams met. The task is much harder for the Rangers though, as they will know they can’t afford any more slips. That is very tricky though considering who their manager is!