Mystic Neil Doncaster is hoping for a real tussle at the top of the Premier League table this season.
Other than arrange the fixtures and sort out commercial deals the chief executive of a sporting league really should leave forecasting to others.
In 2005/06 Gordon Strachan’s team won the title by 17 points, in 2011/12 there was a 20 point difference between the top two, the following season Celtic won the title by 16 points with Ronny Deila’s 2014/15 champions finishing 17 ahead of Aberdeen.
While drooling over the club from Ibrox who are playing on under a going concern warning from their auditors Doncaster told Sky Sports: “I think there’s a lot to look forward to. There’s clearly the return of real box office with the likes of Brendan Rodgers at Celtic and Joey Barton at Rangers.
“So I think there will be a lot of people tuning in around the world, not just the UK. We’ve got over 100 countries now taking the rights to our games all around the world looking forward to the season ahead.
“It’s massive having [the Old Firm derby back on the schedule]. It’s the one game which perhaps defines the Ladbrokes Premiership around the world. You’ve also got the likes of Aberdeen and Hearts, who have run Celtic close in recent seasons.
“We’re certainly expecting a real tussle at the top this year.
“We’ve had an increase in attendances over the last year looking forward to the return of the Old Firm and I’m absolutely sure that attendances and viewer numbers this year will be huge with so much to play for.”