Celtic are sitting in a very good position right now. They are top of the league by a gap of five points, just six games into the campaign. On the other hand, while they might have lost their opening Champions League game against Real Madrid, the performance on the night raised hopes that they could get out of the group by beating RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The picture is very different for the Rangers though. They have lost back-to-back games by a 4-0 scoreline. The first was in the Glasgow Derby against Celtic at Parkhead, and the second was in the Champions League against Ajax.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has done a very good job managing in Europe but his comments after the game suggested that he was not expecting much out of the Champions League campaign.
And Kris Commons believes that the Rangers supporters would not have been impressed with what they heard from Van Bronckhorst on the night. As reported by Football Scotland, he wrote in his Daily Mail column:
"“Supporters won’t be impressed to hear their manager claiming that the team can’t compete at that level. It’s nothing more than a convenient excuse. Yes, I understand that Ajax are a big club and they played some excellent football on the night.“But they’re not a Real Madrid, a Man City, a Liverpool, a Chelsea or a Bayern Munich. They are not among the true financial superpowers of European football. They are just a very well-run club with a clear idea of what they’re doing on and off the pitch.“I didn’t hear much talk of budgets and financial gaps from Dinamo Zagreb when they beat a Chelsea side who spent over £250million in the summer.“It showed a defeatist attitude from van Bronckhorst to use the excuse of money. A well-coached and well-motivated team can always compete. Also alarming was how much the match in Amsterdam was just a continuation from what happened at Celtic Park. There was no reaction whatsoever from the Rangers players.”"
Celtic hero sends warning to Van Bronckhorst after Rangers lose to both Celtic and Ajax
It is safe to say that it is difficult for Scottish clubs to compete at a high level in Europe, considering the financial gulf that exists between teams.
At the same time though, as Celtic showed against Real Madrid, it is not something that is impossible, and the Hoops actually went toe to toe with the European champions for a very long time before losing the game in the second half. The performance was very impressive though.
If the Rangers’ European and domestic form does not improve over the coming weeks, Van Bronckhorst will definitely be walking the managerial tightrope at Ibrox. On the other hand, at Celtic, Postecoglou’s job is as safe as it can be and the fans are delighted with the manager.