At the end of December Kris Boyd smirked as he told Sky Sports viewers that he had just witnessed Men against Boys.
Steven Gerrard screamed into the TV cameras and to some the SPFL title had been handed over, all that was missing from the visitors celebrations was the trophy.
Celtic’s lead at the top had been trimmed down to just two points despite having played a game more. The early fixtures of 2020 included trips to Kilmarnock, St Johnstone, Hamilton, Motherwell and Aberdeen for Neil Lennon’s broken squad. Gerrard’s champions-elect barely had to leave Fortress Ibrox.
Yesterday Boyd faced up to reality. ‘As It Stands’ he got it spectacularly wrong. The two point gap has been stretched to 10, Neil Lennon’s men have an extra point with a goal difference advantage of 18.
The former Kilmarnock striker was missing from Sky Sports coverage of Celtic’s win at Pittodrie but reflecting on recent results he told The Sun:
I thought that Rangers had found the swagger, the arrogance of, ‘I’m a Rangers player and I can deliver on the big stage’.
They’ve proved they can deliver on the big stage at times, but, over the course of a season, leagues are won by coming to Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Tynecastle and walking away with a swagger.
That’s been the difference between the two teams since the break. Celtic have rolled up to every ground knowing they are the champions.
That’s their mindset. Rangers are still chasing. Celtic have the swagger and confidence in what they are doing. Rangers haven’t.
With 11 matches left to play in the SPFL Celtic are 10 points clear having won 18 of their last 19 league matches.
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