IT is 40 long years now since a team other than Celtic or Rangers were crowned Scottish champions, but hopes that a club from outwith Glasgow can end their duopoly of the title still remain high across the country.
Even Ian Durrant, the Rangers great who would dearly like to see his beloved Ibrox club prevail in the William Hill Premiership for the first time since 2021 this season, would welcome a more evenly balanced top flight in the coming 10 months.
“For years now, [[Celtic]] have obviously been dominant,” he said as he looked ahead to the start of the 2024/25 campaign next weekend. “So you need a strong Hearts, Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hibs, everybody.
“You need that bit of competitiveness. There's a lot of teams that are now trying to muscle their way into things, doing their recruitment, getting players in. It will be interesting.”
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Durrant is optimistic that Russell Martin will be able to justify the faith which has been shown in him by the new Rangers owners, the consortium which comprises 49ers Enterprises and American healthcare tycoon Andrew Cavenagh, and lift the Premiership come May.
He thinks that having the legendary Aberdeen and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the last man to lead a non-Old Firm club to the title back in 1985, offering Martin encouragement and advice will only increase the former Scotland centre-half’s chances of laying his hands on the trophy.
Sir Alex, the Govan native who played up front for his boyhood heroes during the 1960s, paid a visit to Auchenhowie last week and he took in the first leg of the Champions League second qualifying round tie against Panathinaikos of Greece at Ibrox on Tuesday night.
“I saw him,” said Durrant. “He was looking great. He's given the new manager a glowing response. He thinks he'll do really well. So if you're getting something off Sir Alex, he must be well thought of.
“Of course it is good that somebody of his stature is in and around the club. If the manager can go and bounce things off him, there's nobody better to listen to and learn from than Sir Alex.
“I just think his presence about the club, everywhere he goes, not just here but anywhere, is positive. You just want to be a sponge and try to absorb as much as you can from him.”
But he felt the way that his side, which featured new recruits Max Aarons, Joe Rothwell and Nasser Djiga, overcame a rocky start against Panathinaikos and recorded, thanks to goals from youngster Findlay Curtis and summer signing Djeidi Gassama, a 2-0 triumph in midweek augurs well for the new season.
“Rangers have another tough game away to Motherwell in their opener,” he said. Fir Park is another ground Rangers haven’t really done too well in the last few seasons. That'll be another test.
“Everyone’s talking about the fourth game of the season already. You don't get the opportunity to get the Champions League qualifiers out the way and they’re talking about Celtic at Ibrox in the fourth game!
“That's the nature of the beast here. There are a few tough games before that. He's given himself a wee fighting chance to get through to the next round in the Champions League with a clean sheet and a two-goal start.”
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Despite his amusement about the feverish excitement which exists among both the Celtic and Rangers supports about the first Old Firm game of the new term, the multiple Scottish title winner knows that performing better than the reigning champions this season will once again be of paramount importance.
But he is interested to see how Hearts fare. His old [[Rangers]] team mate Derek McInnes took over at Tynecastle in May and he expects the former St Johnstone, [[Aberdeen]] and Kilmarnock manager to do well in his new role. He is also intrigued at the increased involvement of Tony Bloom in Gorgie.
Bloom, a professional gambler who bought a 29 per cent stake for a £9.86m investment, has vowed to do his utmost to disrupt “the pattern of domination in Scottish football”. The data-led approach to recruitment which he has overseen at both Brighton in England and Royal Union Saint-Gilloise (RUSG) in Belgium has worked wonders.
RUSG were crowned champions for the first time in 90 years last term despite having a far smaller transfer budget, player wage bill and average home attendance than bigger and wealthier domestic rivals like Anderlecht, Club Brugge, Genk, Gent, Royal Antwerp and Standard Liege.
“People have always talked about Hearts being a great club. But Derek will want to go and to put his own stamp on it now. He won a trophy with Aberdeen, the League Cup. He'll want to go there and replicate that success.
“You'll probably see Hearts getting a few players in. I think the way they operate the system, the way Mr Bloom operates now, they will get players on loan. We'll see how it goes from there.”
Light Blues legend Ian Durrant was speaking as he promoted RYDC’s Big Blue Jackpot, a new Rangers Lotto prize for supporters who can win guaranteed end-of-month jackpots of at least £12,000 and £15,000 from August. Full details at www.rydc.co.uk
