Rangers boss Michael Beale goes into Saturday’s clash with Celtic at Parkhead with an astonishing 90 per cent win ratio since taking over from Gio van Bronckhorst before Christmas.
But former Celtic star Paul Lambert warns him that his record won’t protect him if he loses. There have already been protests from sections of the support due to the club’s failure to catch the runaway league leaders, who have beaten their closest rivals 4-0 and 3-0 at home in the last 14 months. Lambert insists that – even with his impressive start at Ibrox – Beale can’t afford another demolition derby, especially with a Scottish Cup semi-final against Ange Postecoglou’s side looming at the end of the month.
The ex-Celt said: “Michael has come in and won 18 games out of his first 20, winning one and losing one. That’s a great start for any boss but his defeat was against Rangers in the League Cup Final and the draw was against them at home, when they failed to reduce their nine-point lead.
“That’s his marker. It’s all very well beating Hibs, Aberdeen and Motherwell but Celtic will also win against them – and
probably by more goals. I was at the League Cup Final and, looking at this Rangers team, they have a long, long way to go before they can think about catching Celtic.”
That nine-point gap was there when Beale returned to Glasgow but the goal difference has increased as the league leaders have been blowing teams away during Rangers’ wins under the Londoner. Lambert knows how to turn the tables in Old Firm battles. He had been part of the Celtic teams who lagged behind Dick Advocaat’s Rangers until Martin O’Neill arrived in 2000 to turn things around.
“I remember Martin always used to say, ‘Rangers are the benchmark – they’re the champions and they finished 21 points ahead of us and we’re just trying to get where they are’ – he was always shifting the pressure on to them,” he recalled. But when he came in it was like lighting the touchpaper – it was suddenly like wildfire. He knew that you had to beat your biggest rivals and we won our first Old Firm game 6-2.
“Michael will also be judged by his results against Celtic. Those are the games where people will say, ‘let’s see what you’ve got’. You need to turn up in these games because they go a longer way than any other to deciding who’s going to win that title and, if you don’t turn up, you can’t win. These matches define seasons.
“Michael did a good job working under Steven Gerrard when Rangers stopped Celtic winning 10 in a row but he hasn’t won either of his two derby matches. Right now Celtic are a country mile ahead of them on and off the park. They’re the best team in Scotland by a long, long way.”
Lambert also points out the hard work that goes into making sure that Postecoglou’s side don’t take their eyes off the prize.
“Some people believe that playing for Celtic is easy but it isn’t – the pressure is always there,” he said.
“As Jock Stein said, the jersey doesn’t shrink to fit inferior players. Their dominance in Scotland is already so strong that it’s hard to see them falling and two more good transfer windows could see them remain that way for years to come.”
READ NEXT:
