Gordon Smith reckons the psychological blow Celtic suffered in their “dreadful” attempt to make history could lead to a period of Rangers dominance in Scottish football.
Almost a decade on from a decision the 66-year-old later admitted was one of his biggest regrets - agreeing to become director of football at Ibrox under Craig Whyte - Smith has been stunned by the shift in fortunes in Glasgow over the last 12 months.
He wasn’t even sure if Rangers had it in them to mount a challenge last summer as Celtic targeted a first ever 10-in-a-row.
That they blew their rivals out the water by going unbeaten through the 38-game Scottish Premiership campaign and breaking all sorts of records - not least a biggest ever points margin - not only shocked Smith.
He reckons it might just have left a deep wound at Parkhead which could take years to heal.
Long before his ill-fated director of football role, which coincided with Whyte leading the club into administration and demotion to the bottom tier, Smith spent three seasons at Ibrox as a player.
He was part of the team that won the treble in 1978 only to lose their title to Celtic on the final day a year later.
That deprived the Ibrox side of back-to-back clean sweeps.
They then went a further eight years without winning the league as the mental scars took their toll, opening up the way for Celtic, Aberdeen and Dundee United.
And the former Light Blues forward said: “There is every chance it has the same effect on Celtic.
“That was John Greig’s first season and he stayed for a few seasons after that.
“Celtic in this case, even though they have been successful, they have made changes.
“They have brought in the new manager and every managerial appointment is a risk.
“The guy has to be given some time. It is not a case of just because he has taken over now, he has to turn things around and win the league this year.
“He has to show the fans what he is like in terms of his management, the players he brings in and the style of football he plays.
“That is what he has to prove in the short term with a view to, quite soon, Celtic challenging for the league title again.
“Last season was dreadful considering where they were before then.
“At the beginning of last season I actually wondered whether Rangers could even put a challenge in for the league.
“Celtic were so dominant. Nine in a row, four trebles. I was thinking can Rangers challenge for the league at all?
“It wasn’t what I expected. It was a lot easier than a lot of people imagined.
“If you look at the stats it was October that everything turned around. Rangers won at Celtic Park in October and until then both teams were roughly on the same points.
“The form was about the same. Celtic then collapsed after that game. I have no understanding to why that was the case, but that was the turning point.
“They were totally outplayed that day. I don’t know whether it was a psychological thing or whatever, Celtic just fell away after that game.
“It was a case for quite some time that people were saying ‘when’ instead of ‘if’ Rangers would win the title.
“The confidence they got from their run in the league was tremendous. It would have been tremendous in any season.”
Smith admitted last year that joining Craig Whyte’s shambolic administration of the club in 2011 still haunts him.
It was a case of right role at the very wrong time and a heart over head decision.
He lasted eight months, resigning days after the club plunged into administration in February 2012.
But speaking at the launch of a book ‘Going for 55’, which charts the 10-year journey back to the top, Smith reckons Steven Gerrard has the club on an ever-upward trajectory.
Asked if complacency could be the biggest threat to their title after such a comfortable run, he said: “That can always be the case.
“One of the things Steven Gerrard can use to get round that is, given the season they had, they probably should have been treble winners.
“They only won the league and they didn’t do well in the cups.
“They have other things to aim for and one of those would be to actually win other competitions too.
“St Johnstone did fantastically well to win two trophies and Rangers did well to get the league title.
“They will have been disappointed they weren’t challenging for either of the cups.”
• Gordon Smith was speaking at the launch of 'Going for 55', the story of Rangers title victory and 10-year journey back to the top. Written by Christopher Jack it is available now priced at £17.99. For more information, visit: www.polarispublishing.com
