Depressing Read

[ian1964 10,409]

Tom Boyd led Wim Jansen's side to the championship in 1998 to prevent Rangers completing a decade of dominance, but he is convinced that if Gordon Strachan's leaders claim the flag for the fourth successive season then they can consign their arch rivals to the wilderness for years to come.

 

Richard Gough, who inspired Rangers to those nine successive titles between 1989-97, has argued that debt-free Celtic will go on to at least match that achievement if they retain the trophy.

 

 

Rangers are around �£30 million in the red and desperately need the �£15 million which comes with the automatic qualification for next season's Champions League money.

 

However, failure to win the championship and claim that revenue could leave them disappearing in Celtic's rear-view mirror.

 

"Who am I to argue with Richard Gough?" said Boyd. "I certainly hope he's right.

 

"If you believe the financial problems that Rangers have at this moment in time then this title is crucial to them.

 

"Celtic are on this three-in-a-row run and if Rangers financial position is as bad as people say then they won't be able to afford the better quality players if they don't win the league this season.

 

"The money that the Champions League brings in is colossal and it would be one of the most vital championship wins in Rangers' history for those reasons.

 

"There was a lot of pressure on us in 1998 to win the title and stop 10-in-a-row and that was evident in some of our results. The financial position that Rangers are in now makes this title every bit as intense for them as it was for us then.

 

"Rangers need the money to compete and automatic entry into the Champions League. We didn't have that back then as we had to negotiate the qualifiers and that money wasn't guaranteed.

 

"There is an added pressure for Rangers because a lot could hinge on their success or failure in this title race."

 

Murdo MacLeod won four championship medals with Celtic, including last-day successes in 1979 and 1986.

 

Now an analyst for BBC Scotland, MacLeod believes that the current side surrendering their advantage would constitute capitulation.

 

His main concern is that Hibernian's top scorer, Derek Riordan, signed and discarded by Strachan in seemingly arbitrary fashion, will have yet another say in this season's denoument.

 

Riordan scored in the 1-1 draw against Rangers which handed Celtic an unlikely lifeline on Wednesday, and he will be out for revenge at Easter Road on Sunday.

 

"If you're ahead with two games to play then I think you can only throw it away," said MacLeod. "You're at the stage with two games to go when you say: 'Let's win at Easter Road and then at Celtic Park'. That's a situation you would take all the time.

 

"Derek won't hold back on Sunday, though. He'll look back on his time at Celtic and not be happy with the amount of games he played.

 

"He felt he didn't get a chance. He's certainly capable of scoring and I'm sure that possibility is in the thoughts of a lot of Celtic fans just now.

 

"I think he'll have a point to prove. Derek knows how tight it is in the title race but he has more affection for Hibs than anyone else.

 

"He won't look at Celtic as one of his old teams that he has a soft spot for. He is a big Hibs man and, 100 per cent, he will be wanting them to win."

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/scottishpremier/celtic/5325733/Title-outcome-could-affect-Rangers-Celtic-battle-for-years-to-come-says-Tom-Boyd.html