John Hartson has warned Rangers fans not to get too comfortable being ahead of Celtic in the Scottish Premiership table after Sunday’s results saw Steven Gerrard’s side climb up to second in the standings.
Celtic’s 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock saw Brendan Rodgers’ men fall down to sixth while the Gers’ rampant attacking display saw them dismantle St Johnstone 5-1 at Ibrox.
However Hartson refuses to believe that the Hoops are in crisis though despite Rodgers overseeing the worst run of form in his time in Glasgow, and has warned Rangers that they will not be the top dogs for long as soon as the Celts are back in form.
“There’s no doubt the Rangers support cartwheeled their way out of Ibrox on Sunday night,” the former Bhoys striker said on the Glasgow Evening Times website.
“It’s quite a while since they could look over their shoulder at Celtic in the league table.
“They are more than entitled to enjoy their time in the sun. I just don’t think I’d get too comfortable with the view.
“Celtic are not a club in crisis.
“Crack whatever crest you wish and parade it along the top of a newspaper column. This is not a crisis.
“It is a slump. It is a slump in form and there is a lethargy about the team just now. I don’t think there is any doubt about that.”
OPINION
You can’t help but feel that Hartson is right. When a top team underperforms for a few games, there is always a massive overreaction among pundits, the media, rival supporters and sometimes the club’s very own fans. Celtic will get back to winning ways soon enough and they are still favourite to win the Scottish Premiership in the view of many. However that doesn’t mean that people cannot be angry and upset about how the club has been run lately. Stuart Armstrong and Moussa Dembele, two key players in winning the double-treble, were sold and not replaced in the summer and the big-money spent on Odsonne Edouard is starting to look as though it could have been a mistake. There is still plenty of time left this season, that is why Rangers fans should not get too cocky yet. If they are still about Celtic when the winter break comes around, then it is time to get really serious.