OPINION
Andy Walker delivered his verdict on Celtic following their 2-0 loss to Valencia and suggested it could provide an opening for Rangers in the hunt for league title.
The Sky Sports pundit shared that Celtic’s clash with Kilmarnock on Sunday was now more important as they had to recover from a very disappointing night in the Europa League, cranking up the pressure on them in the process.
Walker then directly referenced the fact Rangers could exploit Celtic dropping the ball by closing the gap in the league, and heap more pressure on the Hoops ahead of them being in action by beating St Johnstone on Saturday.
“The performance and defeat against Valencia will provide a huge disappoint for Celtic supporters and Brendan Rodgers, I think he has to look to the squad and maybe the players who came on, like Timothy Weah, likes of Odsonne Eduoard, he might get a start and the two goals to Valencia are the only two they have lost since losing to Rangers before the turn of the year,” said the pundit on Sky Sports News (Friday February 15th, 15:45).
“So Celtic I think will probably realise Rangers have the opportunity to win on the Saturday against St Johnstone if they do that, it brings gap back down to three points, so it’s a really an important game (Kilmarnock) for Celtic.”
Given that Walker’s logic is sound on this occasion, many Rangers fans will surely be licking their lips over potentially closing the gap.
It’s very realistic that Celtic could suffer a European hangover and drop points against a very tough Kilmarnock side, as by all accounts their loss to Valencia was demoralising for many reasons.
Not only did the Spanish team comfortably beat Celtic, they did it at Celtic Park and did it without really going through all their gears as loads of members of Rodgers’ side under performed.
With Celtic’s next game coming relatively quickly given that it’s set for Sunday, Rodgers may not have time to brush down his players and get them refocused.
This means they could realistic drop points, which will gift Steven Gerrard’s side the chance to strengthen their bid for the league title.
With all this in mind Andy Walker’s Celtic verdict will surely have many Gers supporters licking their lips over the prospect of having a good weekend.