By David Herd
RANGERS 3-0 CELTIC , IT’S A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
THE LESSONS FOR 2025
It is a sign of how low Rangers fans were feeling prior to the Ne’erday clash with their most bitter rivals that the match was being dreaded more than anticipated. In the hours after The Bells sound, my phone is usually full of drunken New Year messages with plenty of them brimming with Battle Fever, and of how we will start a new year in the perfect way by putting the enemy to the sword. But I had not one optimistic text message this year. In fact, those of a Rangers persuasion who got in touch mainly either didn’t mention the match at all, or let me know how downbeat they were feeling at the prospect of being inside Ibrox on January 2nd. Pre-match, I received not one single message proclaiming expectations of a “shock” victory.
Of course, there are plenty good reasons for this wave of pessimism, verging on apathy. The other lot hadn’t lost a meaningful Old Firm fixture in years. They are unbeaten domestically since last March. All three domestic trophies sit in the Parkhead trophy room. The chasm between the teams at the top of the table sat at an embarrassing 14 points, with Philippe Clement’s Rangers team having dropped a ridiculous 18 points in 18 games. The festive period so far had seen Celtic rack up two 4-0 home wins, while Rangers had taken just one point from two horrible away performances at Paisley and Motherwell. Throw in a massive injury crisis at Ibrox affecting the defensive side of the team, and factor in the scandalous series of key decisions favouring Celtic in Old Firm matches, and the majority of Ibrox diehards were reduced to hoping the day could somehow avoid the kind of humiliation endured in the dark days of Caixinha and Murty.
The first game of 2025 would see no away fans inside Ibrox, which meant no Celtic fans there to desecrate the tribute to our Absent Friends on the anniversary of the terrible disaster of 1971. My personal view is that their despicable behaviour in multiple previous tributes should mean we never allow them into our home on January 2nd. But the only reason they weren’t in the stadium as 51,065 fell silent was the current standoff between the two clubs on away allocations, and the decision of Lawwell and his cohorts to give Rangers no tickets for the last game at Parkhead. If the clubs are true to their word (which is never a guarantee when it comes to Celtic FC), there should be around 2,500 away fans at the last two Old Firm league fixtures of the season. Regardless of all this, the fact is Ibrox gave a fitting tribute to our fallen, as our club and support always do.
But what of the game itself? And what does it suggest for Rangers in 2025? First and foremost, it has to be said that this was a wonderful Rangers performance, as one-sided a win over Celtic as for many a day. And Ibrox responded to what they were watching, with the noise level ramping up the longer the match went on as it became more and more obvious that this was going to be our day, and it was going to be convincingly so. A makeshift back four gave almost nothing away, the midfield battle was won early and never relinquished, and the Rangers attack created several good chances with their high tempo football. The first competitive game of the new year was an unexpected but massively enjoyable stroll.
Picking a man of the match was almost impossible, and it’s maybe unfair to single out any individuals after seeing Celtic so comprehensively outplayed. Yilmaz was a revelation at right back, snuffing out Maeda and also finding time to have as many shots at goal in one afternoon than he’s probably had all season. Jefte kept danger man Kuhn mainly in his pocket, and both Sterling and Propper in the middle of the defence had as good a game as they have ever had in royal blue. At the other end, Cerny was a constant threat, Bajrami and Hagi were both creative and hardworking, and Igamane never gave their defence any peace even if not looking a goal threat. But. For me, the match was mainly won thanks to the two tigers in the engine room. Diomande was fantastic, getting the man of the match vote inside Ibrox. He won the ball, read the game, sprayed passes, and absolutely overshadowed the much-heralded Celtic midfield. Then there was the skipper for the day. Raskin set the tone for the match early on with his aggression and desire, created the vital opening goal, and played like a leader. The armband suited him, and this won’t be the last time he wears it.
But the bottom line is that Rangers still just about need snookers to make the title “race” in any way competitive. As we’ve seen so often in Europe, Ibrox can be a fortress, and we’ve only dropped two points there all season which is the same as Celtic have dropped at their place. But today will just be a nice memory, and an insignificant game in the destiny of the remaining silverware, unless the lessons of today are learned. If we do learn, then there could still be a trophy in the cabinet by the end of May, albeit it won’t be the big one that we need most.
Lesson one is every game needs this level of intensity. Obviously, some matches are bigger than others, but we won’t see trophies back at Ibrox until we can sustain a level of aggression and tempo that wins games consistently. Easter Road on Sunday will tell us a lot about this, it’s a fixture that the opposition will treat like a cup tie. The expression “one swallow doesn’t make a summer” is exactly how we need to think about the win over Celtic. Look at the difference we saw today when the team started the game fast and hard. And contrast to the half-hearted, timid, boring and ineffective first halves we have seen so often this campaign.
Lesson two is we need better squad depth. Recruitment has been horrendous in recent years in terms of value for money and where it has left us financially, and while we got away with it today when it was a big game, I don’t want to see us play as many players out of position again if it can be avoided. January is usually a tricky transfer window to get right, but a couple of solid defensive additions could make a big difference for the rest of the season.
The manager spoke at his post-match press conference of the hectic fixture schedule and the need to rotate players. The whole sports science debate with players rested in “red zones” is undoubtedly useful as every big team uses this technology. But few managers make it so public and seem to say they allow the scientists to decide who plays and who doesn’t. Lesson three has to be sensible use of the squad and a halt to the kind of nonsensical team selection that we saw at Fir Park. Yes, we can’t run players into the ground. But we need to make sure that the team selected is as strong as it needs to be for the opposition and the occasion, and if that means starting “tired” players now and again, then we do it. I always think we are better to start strong and get in front allowing players to be replaced later on, than putting our best players on the bench and throwing them on when things have gone badly and expect them to rescue us.
Finally, and the biggest lesson of all, is the message a joyous capacity Ibrox sends to the team and the manager. This is a support that gives backing like no others, but it is also a fanbase with demands and expectations. Give us the right attitude and give us winning football, and you will be heroes. But talk about Rangers as a “project” or play down the chances of winning, and you will soon see a return to the anger and the apathy that have been so apparent recently. And fan apathy and empty seats, is something that no club ignores for too long.
If I was a betting man (which I’m not), I would still think that Philippe Clement’s time as Rangers manager is more likely to be brief than successful. And the reason I think that is the way we still approach away games in particular, with the past week being just the latest in a series of wretched displays on the road. Sixteen points dropped so far, only four of the last fourteen away league games won. The vast majority of those fourteen games would have been victories if Rangers had shown the same mentality and approach as when demolishing Celtic. We need to see the same Rangers consistently if 2025 is to see silverware, and if Clement is to stay in a job. Nothing would make me happier than being proved wrong. The wonderful destruction of Celtic has at least made me wonder if I might be.
