Neil Lennon reckons Rangers may be watching Celtic dominate Scottish football for a long time to come – feeling the "psychological edge" his old team have will take them a long way.
The Glasgow rivals face off at Hampden on Sunday with Celtic chasing the chance of a Treble while Rangers look for their first win over the Hoops under Michael Beale. It's being tipped as a decisive game for Beale who knows defeat will spell an end to any hopes of him picking up a trophy in his first season as Rangers boss and many have suggested he'll be under pressure if he fails to win a fourth derby on the spin.
Beale is determined to bridge the gap across the city but Lennon reckons it may be a long time before Rangers, who lost to Aberdeen on Saturday to leave Celtic within one win of lifting the Premiership title, can match them. Lennon said on PLZ Soccer: "I think we're looking at another long period of Celtic dominance. They're so well-managed, Covid had an impact on everyone but player trading (has been good to them), then you've got the likes of Frimpong who could go for big money and Celtic get an add-on from that. The club is in good health and that's because they have clever people behind the scenes as well.
"Psychologically it was damaging for Rangers against Aberdeen. It was Michael's first defeat outwith Celtic. They'll have to park that and concentrate on winning one game of football.
"Celtic just seem to have the psychological edge over them. Even when they're not at their best, they're still beating them and scoring three goals. According to everyone, the 3-2 win the other week, they didn't play well but they still scored three. If they do play well at Hampden, I can only see one winner. And if they don't, maybe psychologically they will win it anyway."
Lennon knows it's make or break time for Beale and told the Ibrox boss he needs to find some way of getting a result. But he believes his team is nowhere near as strong as Ange Postecoglou's, singling out a lack of pace as well as underwhelming displays from Todd Cantwell and Ryan Kent.
He went on: "If Michael wants to win a trophy, if the players want to win a trophy and stop Celtic winning a Treble, they have to win this game. By hook or by crook, he's got to find a way of not outplaying Celtic - because that's a difficult thing to do - but outwork them, be more physical within the laws of the game, and try to keep a clean sheet.
"The goals they conceded at Celtic Park were poor. I'm not sure (about their lineup). There's a lack of pace in the team at times. Goldson coming in might make a difference, he'll be big for them but he's had his injury problems.
"Cantwell hasn't really lit anything up, Kent's been very inconsistent for the talent that he should have. It's going to be difficult, they're going to have to dig deep, cut out the noise and concentrate on the game.
"They're capable of it but they need to recover from Aberdeen and look at where they can catch Celtic off guard. Eventually, if Michael doesn't get it right, people are going to ask questions. Or maybe Celtic are just better and he needs another transfer window to build a team."
As for his prediction for Saturday? "I just think Celtic are superior and will win by a couple of goals."
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