Aston Villa announcement hands Celtic massive boost

While we might be in the middle of an international break, Celtic have already been handed quite a few boosts in recent days. Not only are things looking up for Ange Postecoglou’s side for the upcoming January transfer window, but the situation surrounding the Rangers following Steven Gerrard’s move to Aston Villa has completely opened up the Scottish Premiership title race.

Things were already getting interesting with Celtic looking like the team in form, having won seven of their last eight games across all competitions.

And now the Rangers find themselves without a manager or much of a backroom staff, as Gerrard is not the only one to have departed Ibrox.

Rumours had already been doing the rounds for days and now the news has been confirmed by Aston Villa. They announced on their official website:

"Aston Villa are pleased to welcome Gary McAllister (Assistant Head Coach), Michael Beale (Assistant Head Coach), Tom Culshaw (Technical Coach), Scott Mason (Lead Analyst) and Jordan Milsom (Head of Fitness and Conditioning) to the club as part of Steven Gerrard’s backroom staff."

Celtic have a huge opportunity as the Rangers find themselves in a very tricky situation

Not only do the Rangers find themselves without a man in the managerial hot seat but they do not have much of a backroom staff either. As a result, the Ibrox side will have to make a lot of changes over the coming days and weeks.

The situation is far from ideal for them. The backroom staff remaining would have made the transition much easier. And the only thing that is going their way at the moment is the fact that we are in the middle of an international break and thus, they have some time on their hands.

For Celtic, this is a massive opportunity. They not only have a good chance to cut down the four point gap between themselves and the Rangers. But they could even possibly take a lead of their own.

Of course, nobody knows how things end up going in football and as a result, Postecoglou’s side must remain focused on their side of the fence and continue improving, without thinking about what is happening at Ibrox.