Celtic have been the best team in Scotland on a consistent basis for a long time now. There was one small period of time when it looked like the Rangers were going to go on a run at the top of the Scottish game. It was when the Hoops finished 25 points behind the Ibrox club in the 2020/21 campaign.
The following summer, Celtic saw key players like Scott Brown, Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer, Ryan Christie and plenty of others leave. They were also without a manager as Neil Lennon had left and John Kennedy had seen out the season as the interim boss.
It looked like the perfect opportunity for the Rangers to build a gap. The chance to get automatic qualification to the Champions League gave them an extra incentive as well.
On the other hand, everything appeared to be going wrong for Celtic. After chasing the signature of Eddie Howe for months, they failed to bring him in and instead made the move for a manager called Ange Postecoglou, someone not many Scottish football fans had even heard of. Unsurprisingly, the Hoops were written off and most expected the Rangers to cruise their way to the title.
Connor Goldson names Rangers mistake that led to Celtic dominance
As reported by the Daily Record, Connor Goldson said:
"We didn’t look as hungry or as fit as we’d been the year we won the league.
“Celtic lost a lot of key players that summer and – it was fortunate for them – but no-one thought that Ange would do what he did there The whole football club took its eye off the ball when Celtic lost a lot of players and their manager.
“Unfortunately for us, they quickly turned it around. I was frustrated at that time because I could see what was going on. I could see what was happening.
“Even during the season, when we’d dropped points and the title race was still close – I felt I had to say something to get a reaction. It didn’t go down well but if you look at how things have panned out, I think that I was right. When Steven left, standards got lower."
Celtic had struggled under the management of Postecoglou for the first few months. They lost three of their opening six league games and it was looking like a 'told you so' moment.
But then the Hoops turned it around, and once they got going under the management of Postecoglou, there was no stopping them. They would go on to win five trophies in two seasons before the Australian left for Tottenham Hotspur. He was replaced by Brendan Rodgers, who has continued their run of dominance.