Celtic board blamed for key failing that's fuelling Rangers as £20m prize turns 'really big red flag'

A former Premiership CEO reckons the Celtic board’s lack of summer foresight has allowed Rangers to dream of title glory.

The Hoops could go eight points clear if they defeat their rivals at Parkhead on Sunday but they lost 3-0 at Ibrox last week in a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final. Calamitously losing a four-goal lead against LASK in Champions League qualifying, dropping into the Europa League, and losing their opening league phase match to Ferencvaros has piled pressure on boss Martin O’Neill. Ex-Aberdeen chief Keith Wyness, who was also a senior figure at Aston Villa and Everton, reckons a lack of proactivity from Celtic decisions makers in the summer transfer market is partly to blame.

He told the Inside Track: "I think it could be a really big red flag for them. The revenue will probably be at £20m for the group stage, which is still, in Scottish terms, a lot of money. But it's that Thursday, Sunday, which is a big problem for a squad that is fairly thin.

How much could Celtic in Europe boost Rangers?

“Once again, the fans will shout and point clearly at the board and say the investment hasn't been there, and I've got to agree with the fans to a great degree. I think the board could have been more prescient, and they could have been a lot more secure.

“It's the same old story with Celtic, but I do think Thursday-Sunday is going to be very tough for them. And this is where Derek McInnes has a chance with Rangers to get his squad ticking. If Celtic start to drop points in domestic fixtures on the Thursday-Sunday routine, and it's been proven many, many times that it's a big problem for clubs, then I'd expect Rangers to come back and start to make a title challenge."

Celtic midfielder Mika Baur said ahead of the Old Firm rematch: You could feel it's a special thing there. It was like 50,000 people against you, you should handle that. And on Sunday it's completely different. We have 60,000 on our side, so we should use that. We need everyone. I've said a couple of times now, stick together again, get the energy level, really, really high on Sunday. You will not win it with beautiful football and nice play.

How will Celtic respond vs Rangers?

"Maybe you will score through it, but you will win the game on Sunday with a mentality and with energy and that's what everybody should bring into the into the match. Sure you want to win. That's the first thing and in in a couple of months, no one asked how you won. You want to play attractive football, if you want to do good with the ball, against the ball.

“Tactics are really important, but as we all saw last Sunday, it was not about that. It was about tackling back, to run back. It was about that and we should bring that on Sunday. You don't want to stop playing good with the ball. It's more about the energy, it's more about the mentality on Sunday, but it should be a good mix."

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