The last time Martin O’Neill lost an Old Firm derby at Ibrox, the UK was in the grip of a cold snap in November 2004.
Celtic’s manager was just 52 back then. He was physically stronger and he signed players capable of withstanding the harshest working conditions.
While Bobo Balde, Joos Valgaeren, Chris Sutton, Neil Lennon and Alan Thompson lost that game 2-0, they didn’t lose too many physical battles. Reconciling that with the O’Neill side who turned up at Ibrox and surrendered the League Cup in pea-hearted, inept fashion takes some doing.
Derek McInnes has challenged Rangers to make themselves relevant again in Scottish football. Nothing says ‘relevant’ like pulling off a statement victory in a manager’s first Old Firm game while making the champions look bullied, gutless and one-dimensional.
Make no mistake, McInnes needed this. These are the days which shape perceptions and opinions of a Rangers manager.
When it comes to the big, meaningful fixtures, an old criticism has accompanied the Ibrox boss throughout his coaching career.
Accused of over-thinking his starting XI, picking the wrong team or showing too much respect to the other lot, he went with three against three at the back against an expensive Celtic forward line, and supporters allowed themselves a sharp intake of breath.
There was no cause for concern. In contrast with the final day of last season, when his Hearts team caved in the closing minutes, this was a game when McInnes completely outflanked his opposite number from first whistle to last.
On every available metric Rangers came out on top. By time up it was three going on five.
They physically over-powered their old foes, they won the individual duels, they outnumbered green-and-white shirts in midfield, and took their chances in clinical fashion. They ran harder, they fought harder, they won every second ball and had twice as many efforts on goal as their opponents. They mustered eight shots on target to Celtic’s one.
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Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was a flapping, nervous wreck from the first to the last, and had five saves to Ivor Pandev’s one, while the possession stats read 53-47.
Barely three weeks have passed since a Conference League defeat to Jablonec and when someone reminded McInnes of that night in the post-match press conference, the Rangers boss accused his inquisitor of p***ing on his chips. He was joking when he said it, but almost ended that night fried to a crisp by the demands of managing his boyhood club.
Wins and clean sheets against Aberdeen, Falkirk, Motherwell and St Mirren bought some time but failed to fully convince.
When fans glanced nervously at the fixture list, back-to-back Old Firm games against a Celtic team with six wins from six in the league leapt out.
The late Aberdeen manager Ebbe Skovdahl once said that statistics are like mini-skirts. They give you good ideas but hide the most important parts.
Celtic’s domestic win record papered over the cracks. Despite spending over £30 million in the transfer window, they raked in significantly more from sales, and the failure to invest that profit wisely has created an imbalanced squad with real flaws.
They gave up chance after chance against Dundee United. They surrendered a 4-0 aggregate defeat to LASK Linz in the Champions League to slide to the worst European reverse in their history.
Placed under moderate mental and physical pressure, they fold like a pack of cheap cards. Too many players have hearts made of paper and when things go wrong, plan B is simply to do plan A a little better.
Physically bullied by Manny Fernandez, Olwethu Makhanya and Dujon Sterling, O’Neill could have changed the entire team after a first half when they had no control or composure.
Restricting himself to bringing on Haissem Hassan – the on-form winger who should have started – this was a grim day for Celtic’s manager. His team selection, like his tactics, were under heavy fire last night.
Hyun-jun Yang has been one of Celtic’s best players in recent games. Called up for the Asian Cup, the drop-off from the South Korean to Sebastian Tounekti is cavernous.
Picking the ineffectual Tunisian for Ibrox was always an iffy call, and this was another one of those days when Tounekti took the easy option of passing the ball backwards, taking it back, then doing it all again.
A winger who shrinks from physical confrontations and has an aversion to taking players on and hitting the byeline has no business playing for the club where Jimmy Johnstone remains an iconic figure. A player who nullifies the threat of Kieran Tierney, the only surprise is that he made it to half-time.
Benjamin Nygren wins praise for his goal scoring, but offers nothing else in midfield. The general lack of control and physicality from Callum McGregor and Mika Baur raised further questions of the reluctance to spend a few quid on a physical, athletic No.6 who can break up the play and offer protection to a back line which surrender far too many chances to opponents. They can’t say they weren’t told.
Throw in the signing of a Chelsea left-back yet to find fitness, a Swiss right-back yet to make any impact at all, a £3.4m teenage Dutch midfielder posted missing, an flapping loan goalkeeper from the English Championship and the fact Hogh, the record signing, has scored in just one of his seven appearances, and the summer transfer window is beginning to look like so many in the recent past.
They were saying the same about Rangers five minutes ago, of course. When Celtic play Rangers there is no nuance, no shades of grey; only black-and-white judgements in Monday morning columns like this.
In the course of 90 minutes, Dan Neil went from the poor man’s Joe Rothwell to Captain Fantastic. James Penrice looked a terrific piece of business. New Kevin Kelsy did a Youssef Chermiti by saving his best display for a game against Celtic.
The Ibrox hierarchy spent the summer prioritising leaders and big characters, and McInnes needs them all to turn up again next week. If relevance is the goal, then Rangers should cross the city of Glasgow and beat their bruised and battered rivals there as well.
After the game, O’Neill looked a tired and crestfallen figure. Before kick-off, his opposite number expressed the view that he won’t be managing anyone at 74, let alone a club as demanding or relentless as Celtic or Rangers.
When O’Neill won his first-ever Old Firm game 6-2, he took a team to Ibrox for the next derby and suffered a 5-1 thrashing. He needs a reversal of his own when Rangers head to Parkhead on league business this weekend.
A home crowd of 60,000 will roll up expecting, demanding, that their team return the punishment with bells on. Accused of lacking the mental strength to deal with pressure in recent years, how Rangers deal with that will provide a gauge of just how relevant this new-look team can be at the business end of the season.
