Scottish football has long been dominated by Glasgow giants and great rivals, Celtic and Rangers. The last time the top-flight title was won by another club was way back in 1985 when a young Scottish manager by the name of Alex Ferguson managed to disrupt the two giants and guide Aberdeen to glory, defending the title they had won the season before.
In 1986 Celtic claimed a 34th title, with Rangers adding their 38th 12 months after that. Almost 40 years on Celtic have 54 championships to their name, with Rangers ahead – for now – on 55. Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs remain moored on the four titles they had in the 1980s, their fans wondering, quite probably doubting, whether or not they will ever claim a fifth success.
The more pertinent question for Rangers right now, though, is can they prevent their bitter rivals from drawing level with them on 55 top-tier Scottish titles? At the time of writing, just one game of the 2024/25 season has been played but already the Hoops have made top spot their own. After Rangers laboured to a 0-0 draw with Hearts, Celtic put Kilmarnock to the sword, winning 4-0 at home.
Celtic have won the league for the past three seasons in a row but can they make it four? It would take a bold punter, and probably a Rangers fan, to oppose them. League medals are not handed out after one game but already the Bhoys are firm favourites with the bookmakers. Brendan Rodgers’ side are as short as 1/5 with some betting sites, and the best price you can get on them is 1/2, which equates to around a 67% chance of success (not allowing for the bookies’ margin, so actually higher than that).
If anyone is going to stop Rodgers’ men, it will, one would have to assume, be Rangers. The Teddy Bears are available at odds of 7/2 to win the Scottish Premiership but the third favourites, Hearts, are all the way out at 100/1! So, can Rangers – or by a serious football miracle anyone else – stop Celtic this term?
Not a Foregone Conclusion
Whilst the bookies may be already tying the green ribbons to the trophy, realistically any fan knows there is a long, long way to go. Last season the title race was relatively close, and although Celtic ended up winning by a substantial eight points, we definitely had a battle for much of the campaign.
On the 7th of April, Rangers hosted the eventual title winners and the game ended 3-3. It was an Old Firm classic, with three goals after the 86th minute, but had the home team won that day they would have moved top of the table – with a game in hand too. In the end, it wasn’t to be, and Celtic won six in a row after the derby, whilst the Gers drew two, lost two, and could only manage four wins. The key takeaway, though, is that there really isn’t all that much between the teams.
Rodgers Settled
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One factor in favour of the current favourites is that boss Rodgers, now in his second spell with the club, is fully settled in and is beginning to make his mark. Last term he took over after the hugely popular Ange Postecoglou left in the summer, limiting the impact Rodgers could have. With the former Liverpool man buying himself some time, and restoring his reputation at Celtic Park, by winning the title, he, his players and the club will come into the 2024/25 season with much more confidence and belief.
But Clement in the Same Boat
Last season Rangers actually had to deal with a change of manager mid-season after they took the decision to sack Michael Beale after less than a year in the job. In October 2023, after three losses in their opening seven league games, the Rangers hierarchy decided to dismiss the former QPR boss.
On the 15th of October, they appointed Belgian, Philippe Clement, to replace him after the one-time Coventry defender had excelled in his home country and also had a spell in France with Monaco. Clement will have been disappointed by the way his side failed to take advantage of their superiority at the end of 2023/24 but in truth, they did remarkably well to fight their way back into the title race.
They had trailed the Bhoys by eight points in January, and so Clement clearly did a lot right last term. However, the fact that they lost the Scottish Cup final to their rivals and couldn’t win the key late-season battle on home soil, plus their generally woeful recent record against Celtic, has to be a major cause for concern.
Celtic Will Be Hard to Stop
Hardly a controversial statement, but Rodgers’ champions look highly likely to claim a fourth consecutive win. It would also be their 13th in 14 seasons, a staggering stat. One game is only one game, but with Celtic so strong and so consistent, and so very aware of what it takes to win the league, it feels like already a two-point head start over what has become a 37-game season might be too much.
Before a ball had been kicked, Celtic were favourites, although the odds were, naturally, closer than they are now. Opta’s “supercomputer” crunched all the numbers before the opening weekend of the season and deduced that the defending champions had a 62.4% chance of making it four in a row, with Rangers at 37.3% and Hearts at 0.3%, for those who think the Edinburgh club can “do a Leicester”.
Celtic had a good pre-season, and whilst both clubs have been relatively quiet on the transfer front, Rodgers did an excellent piece of business by bringing in Kasper Schmeichel. His former player at Leicester, Schmeichel is an excellent replacement for the retired Joe Hart. Schmeichel brings leadership and will really improve the Celtic defence with his vocal presence.
The transfer window is not closed yet of course and Rangers are keeping their powder a little dry until they know which European competition they will be competing in. They face the qualification rounds to confirm a Champions League spot and should they make it through there is a chance they could bring in the sort of players that could make them real title contenders. We shall see what happens but as things stand, we won’t be betting against Celtic.