We are just four games into the league season and nothing is even close to being settled. Yet, the mood in the camps of the two Glasgow giants are completely opposite. Celtic must be delighted following their win at Ibrox, a result that not many saw coming and has acted as a major confidence boost for everybody. On the other hand, the Rangers are in a bad situation and Michael Beale already seems to be on borrowed time in the manager’s office.
Of course, the picture was very different before the Glasgow Derby. In fact, many gave the edge to the Rangers over Celtic, even though the Hoops had won the treble last season.
While Celtic have not been anything special this season till now, it would be safe to say that the Rangers have been a major disappointment. They already find themselves four points behind in the league.
Craig Moore appeared to back down from his past comments recently. As reported by the Daily Record, he said on Go Radio:
"“I feel a little bit silly I’ve got to say because at the start of the season again, when I was looking on paper, the Celtic squad in terms of the lack of maybe business that they had done and the business that Rangers done, I’m going well, ‘Rangers are the strongest squad’.“I’ve said this a couple of times but paper doesn’t win you football matches. So far, that hasn’t transferred to match day. I’ll tell you what the difference is at this moment in time, mentally, Celtic are stronger.”"
Rangers hero makes U-turn after Celtic win at Ibrox
Of course, one result does not determine the fate of the league. Celtic will need to make sure that they improve as well.
They had come into the Glasgow Derby on the back of a loss and a draw. Not what you expect from the Hoops, who have been pretty close to flawless over the past decade except for the 2020/21 campaign.
But the result at Ibrox does give them a lot of cause for hope and optimism. Of course, the same cannot be said about Beale’s team.
To be honest, it is hard to see where they go from here. Beale might have been the manager of the Rangers for less than a year, but there is already a feeling that this is the end of a cycle.