Former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson has said that he expects Celtic to fight back in the race for the Premiership title. The Kelty Hearts manager told GORadio that he doesn’t think the Scottish Champions will drop many points with Neil Lennon discovering a formula that gets the best out of his players.
Ferguson said that the title race could be blown open if Rangers drop points in January and Celtic pick up points in their games in hand.
“If Rangers can come through this month of January unscathed I think they will be in poll position to get the title. On the other hand, I don’t think Celtic will drop any more points. I do. I honestly think they will have got so much confidence from that performance (against Rangers) with the new players coming in and a new formation.
“He’s found a new formula that looks very good on the eye. I think that’s the best I have seen Celtic play. It’s up to the manager and the experienced guys there to say ‘we can compete and put one over on Rangers in terms of performance’ and you seen that in the first 60 minutes.
“The only thing that Celtic couldn’t do and that was down to one guy, Allan McGregor who made some fantastic saves. The ball is in Rangers court, of course it is, but this is a massive month and it’s not something Rangers have been used to.”
Celtic are currently 19 points behind Rangers but have three games in hand – versus Aberdeen (H), Livi (A) and St Mirren (H). If Celtic take maximum points, they will narrow the gap to 10 points assuming Rangers don’t drop any points in January – a month in which they have to travel to Pittodrie, Fir Park and Easter Road. If Rangers can drop points, Celtic will smell blood and know that given Rangers recent collapses in the New Year, the title race is far from over.
Celtic need to play half of their games but need to win all nineteen if they are to pull back the lead held by Rangers. It is an extremely tough ask but it is not impossible. Celtic need to hit the ground running on Monday against Hibs and put down a marker that they are still the Champions and that they won’t be giving up their crown without a fight.
