At the end of December Kris Boyd told Sky Sports viewers that the Glasgow derby had been a case of men against boys.
Just two points separated the two clubs at the top of the SPFL Premiership table as Steven Gerrard roared into the cameras to salute his players. Boyd did likewise for television viewers.
In his mind the game in hand put the Ibrox club into first place. Looking at the post split fixtures Boyd couldn’t see Celtic being seven points clear and 12 goals better off by the early stages of February.
Rather than provide an insight into the improvement in Neil Lennon’s squad, or analyse what has gone wrong with Gerrard’s side, Boyd has used his column in The Sun to launch a ferocious attack on Celtic fans. It’s the sort of stuff that could have been copied and pasted from a fans’ message board.
Using The Sun Boyd lets rip with:
CONGRATULATIONS go to Celtic on winning the Premiership title.
What? The league isn’t over yet? There is still a third of the season to go?
Sorry, my mistake. But judging by the loud noises coming from the Celtic support in the last week I assumed they’d already been crowned champions. It’s funny that. In the weeks after Rangers’ Old Firm win at Parkhead, a lot of punters must have had broken fingers and lost voices.
The social media messages stopped. You barely heard a peep from Celtic fans. Now, after Rangers dropped five points in a week, the fingers seemed to have healed and they’ve suddenly found their voices again
The messages have started, they are all having a go and you can hear a lot of noise. It’s all wildly premature. Trust me, this title race is FAR from over. There are still plenty of twists and turns to come.
Boyd’s celebrations on December 29 were wildly premature. Since his grim-faced appearance on Sky’s coverage of Hearts’ third SPFL win of the season we’ve hardly had a peep out of the Kilmarnock legend. The appearances on TalkSPORT and Radio Scotland have almost dried up. Last week he used his column in The Sun to sympathise with Derek McInnes. Boyd’s views on Aberdeen and their supporters is well known. He’s not keen!
Looking at Celtic’s last two matches Boyd adds:
I know they scored four goals at Hamilton and Motherwell, but they weren’t perfect performances. At Accies, they needed three late strikes after Hamilton had been reduced to ten men. There were also a few first-half scares at Fir Park. The 4-1 and 4-0 results flattered Celtic — and when Lennon analysed those games he would see that.
But they found a way to win and that’s what Rangers need to do, starting with the league game against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Wednesday. Celtic will drop points somewhere along the line. The next Old Firm game in the middle of March will also be massive.
Let’s be honest, Rangers gave Lennon’s men a BLEACHING at Parkhead and, trust me, deep down they know their rivals are capable. Celtic have been let off the hook by Gers’ results since the winter break — but this title race has plenty of mileage left in it yet.
According to BBC Scotland stats, the BLEACHING that Boyd refereed to saw Celtic have 57% possession to 43%. 11 shots v 9, 5 v 5 shots on target and 11 corners v 7.
During his long glorious career Boyd scored one goal against Celtic. Eamonn Brophy has scored four times against the champions with Stuart Findlay and Youssouf Mulumba joining Boydy with one goal against the hoops.
And look what his latest is!!!! pic.twitter.com/zmrN063gXN
— Bun Beag Brian (@BunbegB) February 8, 2020
CLICK HERE for Boyd’s derby day verdict including men against boys quote.