Celtic might have flashed a bit of leg at Rangers on Saturday.
But when the Ibrox men duly had their pants pulled down at Pittodrie yesterday it served as a timely reminder of why Michael Beale will turn up at Hampden on Sunday hoping to get lucky while bracing himself for more pride swallowing rejection. Because, despite the stark and impressive upturn in results since the Englishman took over from Gio van Bronckhorst, the neighbours from across town remain out of his league.
Even when Ange Postecoglou’s team mis-stepped at home to Motherwell, Rangers responded in feeble fashion by allowing the gap between the pair to increase to 13 points before the weekend was over. The 2-0 defeat at Aberdeen means Celtic are just one win from sealing a second successive title under the Australian. But, more importantly where the Scottish Cup semi-final is concerned, it has robbed Beale of any kind of momentum just when he needed it most of all.
It wasn’t as if Beale and his players were actually beginning to believe they were back in with a realistic crack at the title. There’s a fine line between optimism and delusion after all.
But Celtic’s uncharacteristic slip was just enough to keep them interested all the same and maybe even tease the hopeless romantic inside them into wondering, what if? What if the champions might be running out of steam and entering an entirely unexpected wobble now that this seemingly unstoppable march towards a domestic clean sweep is just about to reach the tickly bit?
What if the injuries which sidelined key men such as Reo Hatate and Jota might keep one or both of them on the sidelines at Hampden again on Sunday when the fate of this season’s Scottish Cup is almost certainly going to be determined? And what if the murmurings from the west of London about Chelsea’s initial interest in Ange Postecoglou turn out to be true?
All of the above might have boosted Rangers’ confidence and sense of self-esteem at a defining early moment in Beale’s rebuild. Instead, the Ibrox boss will have made the long journey back down the road yesterday evening with the realisation dawning on him just how far he still has to go in order to make his team fit for the purpose of winning silverware.
Yes, they might still get lucky at Hampden when the madness of derby day takes hold. Stranger things have happened after all. But it’s just hard to think of one right now.
An avalanche of stats suggest otherwise and one in particular points to the scale of Celtic’s dominance under Postecoglou. During his first two seasons in charge Celtic’s manager has never once suffered two domestic slip ups in succession.
Whenever points have been dropped in the league – and when Rangers triumphed in last season’s cup semi – Celtic have responded with a win. Every time.
That’s an ominous sign for Beale who has enough concerns of his own after watching his side surrender so meekly and capitulate so completely yesterday. Rangers opened up brightly amidst the blustery conditions on the north east coast.
But chances came and went without being taken by the likes of Fashion Sakala, Alfredo Morelos Borna Barisic and Nico Raskin. And ultimately they were then blown away by an Aberdeen side which, to put it simply, seemed more prepared to put in the hard yards the longer the game went on.
Beale may place his trust in players like Todd Cantwell and Malik Tillman, both of whom have talent to burn. They look pretty and highly polished in possession but they were posted missing during the second half at Pittodrie yesterday afternoon.
Just as they were at Celtic Park when Postecoglou’s side removed any remaining doubt over the destination of this season’s league title. They may be his key creative forces but can they really be trusted to turn up when the manager needs them to perform?
Because Celtic’s midfield operators will almost certainly not be posted missing – even in the event that Hatate can’t recover in time to be one of them. Beale admitted yesterday his side failed to respond when Aberdeen’s players imposed their style upon them.
That’s precisely the challenge that will await them on the south side of Glasgow. On steroids.
It might help his cause if a memo is sent around the Auchenhowie building over the next few days, reminding Rangers not to run off at the mouth too freely as they have previous where talking carelessly is concerned.
Even as recently as yesterday morning, Beale had cause to blush when an interview with his right-hand man and coaching mentor, Neil Banfield, was published in a Sunday paper.
“You can see where he is going, his trajectory,” Banfield was quoted as saying when appraising the young manager’s credentials. He went on: “You talk about Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino. Micky Beale is not far off that, let me tell you.”
Beale may have spluttered on his morning cereal when he read what Banfield said out loud and not just because he’s still to manage his way to a first piece of silverware. Banfield also talked about some ongoing beef with Postecoglou because of comments made by him in the immediate aftermath of Celtic’s Old Firm victory in the Viaplay Cup Final.
While it’s difficult to identify exactly what might have wounded the Rangers backroom team so deeply, Banfield declared that whatever it was made him want to say, ‘OK, right, we’re coming’.
Now that sounds all well and good, but if Rangers are to do more than just flirt with the idea of giving their rivals a good seeing to, they’ll have to do a lot more than just talk a good game.
