'Couldn't be bothered' - Sportscene's damning Rangers v Celtic verdict as tactical triumph dissected

BBC pundits have say on Old Firm outcome

It may have taken him longer than any other Rangers manager in history, but Philippe Clement finally got the better of Celtic with a 3-0 victory in the New Year derby at Ibrox.

It was the Belgian's first victory in the fixture at the seventh attempt but it proved worth the wait as his depleted Rangers side bettered their Glasgow rivals in every department with goals coming from Ianis Hagi, Robin Propper and Danilo.

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Rangers remain 11 points behind Celtic at the top of the William Hill Premiership but the manner of victory has eased some of the pressure that had been building on Clement after a Boxing Day defeat at St Mirren was followed with a draw at Motherwell.

Rangers defender Robin Propper celebrates after scoring to make it 2-0 over Celtic at Ibrox Stadium. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)Rangers defender Robin Propper celebrates after scoring to make it 2-0 over Celtic at Ibrox Stadium. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
Rangers defender Robin Propper celebrates after scoring to make it 2-0 over Celtic at Ibrox Stadium. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

It was a tactical triumph for the ex-Monaco and Club Brugge boss over his counterpart Brendan Rodgers, who experienced an Old Firm defeat for only the second time in 21 matches across his two highly successful spells in charge of Celtic.

Former Rangers forward Steven Naismith felt that Rangers’ victory was built on the blueprint that almost brought them success in the recent Premier Sports Cup final, which Celtic won on penalties after a 3-3 draw at Hampden.

Speaking on Sportscene, the ex-Hearts manager said: "There was a clear game plan, similar to the cup final. Rangers sat off and allowed Celtic centre halves to have the ball. Rangers are shaping the game to where they want to go. They stopped Callum McGregor getting the ball, forced dangerous passes, and the midfield was really aggressive. In countless clips you see them letting the centre-half drive out of defence, the space for them to play in is then much smaller, and when the opportunity came to press, [Nico] Raskin, [Mohamed] Diomande, the full backs, all pressed at the right time. Then when Rangers won it, that's when the game opened up for them. That's why they were so threatening in attack.

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"Celtic are so good at bouncing the ball off [Reo] Hatate back to McGregor. Rangers stopped that with their positioning. That was the plan for them. Rangers biggest problem in the cup final was they gave up cheap goals, here they were solid."

Celtic fell well short of their best at Ibrox.Celtic fell well short of their best at Ibrox.
Celtic fell well short of their best at Ibrox. | SNS Group

Ex-Celtic hero Peter Grant, speaking alongside Naismith on Sportscene, felt his former club had played into Rangers' hands. "I wasn't surprised by the way Rangers shaped up, what surprised me was that Celtic didn't bypass the front four or five quicker," he said. "They took far too many touches. I thought Celtic were cutting off each other. There were too many players in the same area standing in front of each other. I think it was the slowness of the play. Since [Nedim] Bajrami has come in and played the 10 position - that 10 position used to jump onto the backline early and then Callum McGregor would be left standing in acres of space. That's not happened in the last two games so they have done that very well to be fair to them. Rangers were excellent and thoroughly deserved their victory but Celtic will be really disappointed they didn't move the ball quick enough."

Naismith went as far as to question's Celtic hunger, adding: "Celtic looked as if they couldn't be bothered. Celtic have been excellent under Brendan Rodgers. Since he came back until now, the progression is clear. They are a million miles ahead of everybody. But I think he is spot on in his comments saying, ‘we lacked that edge’. It's been too easy for them. The cup final you would expect to be a shock and I felt they would come into the game today and be up for it but it just lacked that edge.”

Grant replied: "That's not the case. When you're playing Rangers, it doesn't matter. You have to beat Rangers. I just think they were too slow. The team has been excellent but too many touches, not quick enough. When you're not playing well, you go after the ball, you make sure you don't give the opposition a moment. That didn't happen. In and out of possession it was sluggish. That was the difference. To be fair to Rangers, they played forward quickly. Celtic had much more possesion but it doesn't reall matter if you're not going forward."

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