It goes without saying it's easier to be magnanimous about your rivals when they're toiling.
But, still, it's an adage Ally McCoist was only too happy to confirm.
The Rangers legend's praise of Leigh Griffiths' and Callum McGregor's goals during Celtic's 3-3 draw with Aberdeen last weekend was fulsome to say the least.
So much so, it left BT Sport colleague Chris Sutton pondering whether McCoist was be quite so gushing had Lewis Ferguson not dispatched a stoppage time penalty to ensure a share of the spoils.
McGregor and Griffiths struck either side of the Dons going 2-1 up via Ryan Hedges, with the duo's goals the pick of the bunch on a thrilling afternoon at Pittodrie.
And they impressed no one more than McCoist.
He told Scottish Football Extra: "I thought the game last week was excellent. Two wonderful goals, Griffiths and McGregor, sensational goals."
That assessment drew a smile from co-pundit Sutton, who immediately posed the question: "Would you be saying that if Celtic won it?"
McCoist's rapid, thoroughly honest reply left Sutton in fits of laughter.
"No, not at all," McCoist confessed. "No, you'd be getting a different story from me totally, Chris.
"Let's be quite honest about it.
"But it was a great game of football!
"I think Aberdeen deserve enormous credit because that was a real punch in the plexus going 3-2 down after leading twice.
"They came back and got a well deserved penalty."
