Former Celtic striker Derek Riordan still thinks his old team are better than Rangers despite losing back-to-back games against their arch rivals in the space of a week. The Bhoys were bullied off the park on two occasions by Rangers and looked second best in just about every category.
The only part Celtic are not second-best on of late is their league position, still two points ahead of the Gers in the Premiership. But that lead will not last long if Celtic don't get their act together over the coming weeks.
Martin O'Neill knows that, and he says he is ready for the challenge despite flirting with the idea of walking away from his role. And former Hoops frontman Riordan believes O'Neill is up for the challenge.
“I think Celtic are the stronger team," he told the Glasgow Times. "I think Celtic are better than Rangers, that’s 100 per cent. And Hearts.”
“I mean, that’s football. You can’t win every week. It’s very early in the season. I think Celtic are still very strong. And Martin O’Neill’s a brilliant manager; he's been there and done it every time. They'll get back to winning football."
Celtic need to prove it
It's been said a few times that Celtic are better than Rangers regardless of their defeat to their rivals, but that's not true until it is proven.
The Bhoys may well be a better team over the balance of the season, but again, that has not been proven, not this season. Derek McInnes is a different threat to Danny Rohl, and he experienced a title race against Celtic last season.
He now has more resources, and the Gers invested significantly during the summer, arguably having a better window than Celtic, at least in terms of efficiency and overall gain, with Celtic having lost some key talent.
Celtic were not at their best over the last three weeks before the international break, butwe can also safely say they have not been at their best against any decent team this season. They have come undone in four of the five games against good teams, and that is a bad trait.
Beating Rangers is not necessary to win the Premiership title, but beating a couple of good teams along the way is. Celtic need to prove that before they can start making a case again that they are a better team than Rangers, as hard as that may be to hear for Bhoys fans.
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