Former Celt, Alan Stubbs, has warned the Rangers that they’re opening a can of worms if they beat the sporting integrity or null and void drums. Stubbs was a victim of the old club’s EBTs and cheating and it’s thus unsurprising he’s sharp to remind the descendant club in Govan.

The likes of Ally McCoist have said that there should be an asterisk against Celtic’s title if they get awarded the league. This despite the fact Celtic are 13 points clear, in scintillating form and The Rangers would need to win all nine remaining games – a feat they haven’t achieved since being in the Scottish Championship! Added to that delusional expectation, is that The Rangers would need to defeat Celtic twice along the way, which they have only done in their entire eight year history (inside 90 minutes), let alone in a single season. To round things off, Celtic would still need to lose a further two matches after being defeated by the perennial losers from Ibrox way. The last time Celtic dropped the required points to lose the title from this position, was in the first few months of Ronny Deila’s spell in charge.

We know and they know, the title will be won by Celtic on the field if the matches are played, so no wonder there’s a pathetic clamour for null and void or asterisks. However, Stubbs has a few home truths for the new Ibrox club and their predecessors:

“Rangers should be very careful because if they start saying this campaign should be null and void then what about all the leagues they won when they were later found in court to be bending the rules regarding their tax avoidance?

The difference here is that Celtic have done nothing wrong while Rangers did do something wrong and still kept those titles. Plus, if anything, if the season had continued, I could only see the gap between the two clubs becoming even wider. For me, it’s not even up for discussion because Celtic would have finished even further ahead. Rangers had been more or less admitting that their season was over before the lockdown even happened and they were only ever playing for second place this year.

Last December when Rangers bossed Celtic at Parkhead we thought we had a genuine title race but then the wheels fell off for them. They have been really poor since the winter break. Sometimes you look outside for excuses but it’s better to look at home for them. They only have themselves to blame for that. Celtic deserve to be champions – it’s the other end of the table where the problem is.”

Stubbs hits the nail on the head as any neutral would agree. It’s ridiculous to think 30 games should be cancelled when such a huge lead is commanded. Regardless of the utter nonsense and desperation, Stubbs makes it clear what matters:

“The record books say that Celtic won and that’s the most important thing. Celtic know how to win when it matters. Rangers have lost two cup finals and five semi-finals since winning promotion back to the Premiership in 2016. Celtic have got the advantage in the really big games because Rangers have come up short whenever they’ve been under pressure. Their players have admitted that they can’t handle pressure and, when you’re playing for big clubs and that’s the case, you’re no good to anybody.”

INVINCIBLE by Matt Corr

The Celtic Star’s very own Matt Corr – who you may also know as a Tour Guide at Celtic Park – publishes his first Celtic book, titled INVINCIBLE – early next month. This beautiful hardback book will be the definitive story of Celtic’s magical2016-17 season – it truly is wonderful, a real joy to read, and brilliantly written by Matt.

If you have been reading Matt’s regular contributions on The Celtic Star or indeed in the Matchday Programme or in the Celtic View you will know just how talented a Celtic writer he is. The book is published by The Celtic Star and you can pre-order below.

Support Celtic Youth Development

Help raise money for Celtic Youth Development by joining the £1 weekly lottery and you could win up to £25,000 – just click the photograph below to join. Lots of our readers have already done so and they’re now doing their bit to help fund Celtic Youth Development that can deliver the stars of tomorrow and beyond. And you might even win a few bob too! And a special thank you to all The Celtic Star readers who have already signed up and are now supporting youth development to give us the Celtic Stars of the future…