Former Celtic frontman Andy Walker says Rangers were 'streets ahead' of his old side during the two recent Old Firm fixtures. Rangers won both games, winning 3-0 in the Premier Sports Cup clash at Ibrox and 1-0 at Parkhead in the league rematch one week later.
Plenty has been said about Celtic's performances during those two games, although as bad as both were, the first was significantly worse.
The Bhoys were flat in both games, and even with the scoreline being a narrow one in the first game, Celtic couldn't muster up opportunities to take something from the game, which was baffling.
The Hoops are still top of the Premiership and with a two-point gap, but they have spent the last couple of weeks in a state of crisis, now with Martin O'Neill's position looking uncertain and with clear mentality and personnel issues.
"The biggest thing for me, in the last two weeks, was just the dominance of Rangers," Walker has said. "Neither game was close."
"I thought Rangers absolutely battered Celtic at Ibrox and I thought they were streets ahead at Parkhead."
Asked about whether he worried about Rangers during his time, he said: "Oh, you worry about Rangers all the time. You never take your greatest rivals for granted, no matter how much you feel that you might be on top."
Celtic must learn but not panic
Celtic have been in a state of crisis of late, but while they have a lot to put right, they are not in a crisis. They are two points ahead of Rangers and with their Premiership and Europa League dreams intact.
That's not to say there are not problems. There are some pretty significant problems that are going to need to be addressed. But such moments happen during a season, and it takes time to fix them.
The biggest concern is how flat Celtic have been in big games, the mentality issues, and they are arguably the easiest to fix. The Bhoys might just need a big result in one of these big games to turn the tide, and they have plenty of opportunities after the break, with a clash with Hearts and two big Europa League fixtures on the docket.
Rangers looked good in those games, no doubt, but Celtic have managed a consistency against lesser teams that their biggest rivals have failed to, and it will be interesting to see if that continues. If it does, then Celtic still have every chance of Premiership success, even with a lack of Old Firm success.
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