OPINION
It was not long ago that Rangers were considered as genuine contenders for the Scottish Premiership title. Going into Saturday’s clash with Kilmarnock, that was no doubt still the case.
The Gers ended up drawing 1-1 with them – and with Celtic securing a last-gasp 1-0 win over Dundee on Sunday, the Hoops ended up going ten points clear at the top of the table.
However, it is Craig Beattie’s – a striker who used to play for Celtic – comments which would have left the supporters fuming.
“For me, it was probably alive going into the weekend; Rangers probably had an outside chance depending on how they were going,” Beattie told Sky Sports.
“But I think ten points clear with eight games to go, Celtic having Rangers at Celtic Park, I think Celtic are going to have too much and I think they’re going to run out comfortable winners in the end.
“I think the season’s lost. I’ve been on record and I’ve been quite critical of Rangers this season so far.
“The last week for Rangers and Steven Gerrard was a bit of a bombshell. You’ve gone out the cup and pretty much lost the league within the space of four days so he’s got a massive job on his hands just to try and rejuvenate and re-galvanise the squad and get them going for the remainder of this season.”
The supporters are going to be rather riled by these comments, as many of them no doubt feel that their team are still in with a chance of the title this season. Mathematically, they still are, but that does not seem to be the case according to Beattie.
Yes, they did go out of the Scottish Cup to Aberdeen not long ago, and that was their most realistic chance of winning a trophy. Nevertheless, the supporters are still going to be angry with the way Beattie has ruled them out completely.
Rangers have the quality to go and beat Celtic when the two sides face off on March 31, and if they do go and win their second successive game against them, the fans will have more hope than ever that their team can pull off a miracle.