Advantage Celtic: “A golden opportunity was wasted,” Brian Laudrup on a psychologically important weekend

Photo: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

“The stumbles witnessed at the weekend have created questions around both (the)Rangers and Celtic, but it’s my old club who are really feeling the heat.

Psychologically, the two points they threw away against Motherwell on Sunday were the most important points of the season so far. A golden opportunity was wasted. And now the pressure on their shoulders is huge.

After a truly great European night against Dortmund, (the)Rangers lacked relentlessness and a clinical edge — at both ends of the pitch.

You can talk about bad luck and everything else, but too many draws will always lose you the title in Scotland. That’s the worry for (the)Rangers going into a massive week. They cannot afford another error against either St Johnstone tomorrow evening or Aberdeen on Saturday.”

IMAGO / Shutterstock Kaiyne Woolery of Motherwell scores to draw the match level 2-2. Rangers v Motherwell, 27 Feb 2022 Photo: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

So far this season theRangers have only lost twice, once at Tannadice and a ‘skelping at the hands of Celtic four weeks ago, however an inability to win on the road in particular since returning from the winter break is proving costly.

With the Ibrox side now having drawn an incredible seven games this season they are closing in on the sort of numbers that ultimately cost Tommy Burns the title back in the 1995/96 season, and as Celtic entertain St Mirren on Wednesday you wouldn’t bet against our rivals struggling against an improved St Johnstone side in Perth, a team battling for every single point as they fight the threat of relegation.

Celtic meanwhile have been in excellent form. The three defeats we’ve suffered all came early in the season as Postecoglou’s methods were still being understood and a team in transition was still being created, and the only dropped points since the winter break came in Sunday’s draw – Celtic’s fourth of the season – at Easter Road, never a happy hunting ground for Celtic in recent years anyway.

Brian Laudrup is quite right theRangers inability to see teams off will impact on their title credentials, and now as we saw in Sunday’s draw at home to Motherwell, even a two-goal lead at Ibrox isn’t enough for the Ibrox club to feel secure – that’s the sort of form to bring on title jitters.

Tommy Burns side learned that lesson the hard way and now at theRangers are looking down the barrel of a similar experience – it’s not always the losses that costs you a title, it’s the draws that can sneak up and prove to be your downfall. And a trip to Perth tomorrow night will be no easy place to address the balance.