Ibrox trash talk, their stronger bench narrative doesn’t add up

There seems to be a spate of people coming out publicly with the view that the Ibrox club have a stronger bench than Celtic. It’s a bizarre takeaway given our injury crisis has all but eased up ahead of the Sunday lunchtime clash in Govan, and there are still considerable absentees for Phillipe Clement’s men ahead of this one.

Even if he had all hands on deck, I still wouldn’t say they had a stronger squad depth than us. Especially not for match winners it has to be said. With the captain, Callum McGregor, returning from injury in time for this one hopefully, we have him, Reo Hatate, Matt O’Riley, Tomoki Iwata and Paulo Bernardo to choose from in the midfield area.

Added to that, we have Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kühn on either wing, with Yang Hyun-jun and the possibility of Luis Palma to be on the sidelines if needed come the weekend. Moreover, what about James Forrest who has proven yet again that he is more than capable of still coming off the bench and having an impact in games? Whether or not it’s the Forrest of old isn’t really the question, is it? It’s can he have an impact on the state of play? I think he almost certainly can.

Then of course we have Kyogo Furuhashi, Adam Idah and Oh Hyeon-gyu to choose from if we need firepower. With Kyogo on form it’s highly likely that he starts at Ibrox, unless Rodgers has a secret masterplan we have no idea about hiding in his notes for the game. So with that being said, with Idah and Oh waiting in the wings if needed and fully fit, it would be a nonsense to say that they have a superior bench and squad depth to us for this one.

⚽️ “I think for the first time, in a long long time Rangers have a superior bench.”

🗣️ “Certainly Rangers squad with their attacking players, they have got options there.”

🤔 Who will have the best bench come Sunday? pic.twitter.com/K8NjSNVJfP

— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) April 4, 2024

🗣️’I think Rangers have a stronger bench now…for a long time it was always Celtic’s’

Alan Rough believes Rangers have Old Firm advantage ahead of Sunday’s massive derby clash

WATCH The Football Show HERE at 7PM➡️https://t.co/L7e9xppkE4 pic.twitter.com/FkrZTLYFsI

— PLZ Soccer (@PLZSoccer) April 1, 2024

Not sure on these takes at all…

Paul Gillespie