It hasn’t been the best week for former Rangers player Graeme Souness after watching Celtic comfortably beat his old side in the latest Glasgow derby.
The 3-0 victory for Brendan Rodgers’ men, courtesy of goals from Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Callum McGregor, was tough enough to watch for Souness. But his frustrations have spilled over into the media in recent days, making it a week to forget.
Speaking on talkSPORT earlier in the week, Souness tried to downplay the gap between Celtic and Rangers, suggesting that the difference boils down to Celtic simply having better strikers.
His comments were quickly dismissed by Celtic supporters and other pundits, including Martin O’Neill, who pointed out the inaccuracies in Souness’ assessment. Now, another voice in football has publicly challenged him: Troy Deeney.
Troy Deeney notes the ‘big gap’ between Celtic and Rangers
Appearing alongside Souness and Simon Jordan on the YouTube show Three Up Front, Deeney was asked about his thoughts on the derby. His response was blunt: “I did, yeah. I felt like they [Rangers] got battered, personally.”
He went on to compare the Old Firm derby to other big rivalries in football, saying: “When you watch the Liverpool game, it’s Man United, you can watch that emotionless and go, Liverpool were miles better than that team. My eye test said Celtic were a better team. There did look a big, insurmountable gap.”
Deeney’s remarks came in response to Souness once again referring to match statistics like shots on goal in a bid to explain away the defeat. But no matter how many excuses Souness tries to muster, the reality of Celtic’s dominance in this fixture remains clear.
Brendan Rodgers’ reality can’t be easy for rival fans
Brendan Rodgers is firmly in control of football in Glasgow. That much is undeniable. In his 19 Old Firm derbies, Rodgers has lost only once, racking up 15 wins in the process.
It’s a record that has left many Rangers fans baffled, as they struggle to come to terms with such one-sided dominance in a historically competitive fixture.
For pundits like Souness, it may be easier to downplay the situation and make excuses rather than confront the harsh reality of Rangers’ current position in Scottish football.
But as Celtic continue to march on, those across the city are left scratching their heads. And for Celtic fans, they’ll be hoping this run of form under Rodgers continues for a long time yet.