It looks like even the Rangers players have given up all hope of stopping Celtic from winning the Scottish Premiership for the ninth straight time.
For their claims of being as good as Celtic since Steven Gerrard has taken over as the manager at Ibrox, it is clear that the gap between the two sides is still substantial. Yes, earlier this season it had appeared that the Rangers were about to put up a title challenge. But since the winter break, the wheels have completely fallen off.
As things stand, Celtic have a 13 point lead at the top of the Premiership table with just 8 league games left to be played although Steven Gerrard’s side do have a game in hand. And most of that is down to the form that they have showcased since returning from their winter training camp.
It is hard to believe but at one point it was the Rangers who were in the driving seat. They had managed to beat the Hoops at Celtic Park for the first time since 2010 and as a result were just two points behind the reigning champions with a game in hand going into the winter break.
And now even Rangers star Filip Helander has admitted that he and his teammates have not been good enough to handle the pressure of mounting a title challenge against Celtic. Speaking with The Scottish Sun, he said:
"“I don’t know what happened to us as a team. We lost our shape, got a few injuries and dropped lots of unnecessary points. Confidence dropped in the team and you start overthinking things in adversity.“Of course you notice the criticism because the expectations here at Rangers is that you will always win. That’s what we play for here and I love it.“When things are not going well, you have to not let it get to you but we have not been good enough to handle the pressure this season.”"
It has definitely appeared that Steven Gerrard’s side have not been able to handle the pressure. As a result if the season is indeed resumed, they find themselves with a mountain to climb in the league, out of the Scottish Cup and a 3-1 deficit to overcome away against Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Europa League tie. So much for the revival!