Adrian Durham - Celtic's success over the last three years has been 'fake'...

[Juancornetto 1]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3217956/Celtic-s-success-three-years-fake-t.html

 

Celtic going top of the league at the weekend was small consolation for the total embarrassment of yet another season without making the Champions League proper.

This is the team that is comfortably the best in Scotland, yet they are clueless when it comes to mixing it with European also-rans from Sweden. Hard to believe that three years ago this once great club actually beat Lionel Messi and Barcelona on a wonderfully memorable night in Glasgow.

A few months before Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt – now at Southampton and Charlton respectively – had seen off the Kings of Catalonia, Celtic's city rivals Rangers had been demoted to the Scottish Third Division.

 

Celtic fans were loving life but fast forward three years and you can see how much damage has been done to the Hoops, with the only club capable of pushing them or surpassing them dispatched to oblivion.

 

This week as Celtic yet again go on a raid of the sides below them for talent (add Caley Thistle's Ryan Christie to the names of Scott Allan, Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven), they came from behind to beat St Johnstone and go back above Hearts to the top of the Scottish Premiership.

What this all means is that Celtic's policy in recent seasons has been to weaken the rest of the Scottish sides so that there can be no threat to the claim on the title north of the border.

 

The knock-on effect of this is that Celtic are embarrassingly ill-equipped to deal with Champions League qualification games.

So Ronny Deila's empty words ahead of the second leg in Malmo, talking up the unbeaten run and the success of his side, came back to haunt him. Celtic were only that good because they stripped Dundee United of the players who might possibly have given the champions a close run for their money.

 

And when Celtic take a glance over their shoulder they probably don't see the real threat racing up behind them. Rangers will come into the Scottish Premiership next season with a winning mentality, the ability to score goals (another five away at Queen of the South at the weekend), a manager who knows what he is doing and has the ability to pick at the English transfer market with knowledge and intelligence (James Tavernier is a sensationally good player, and he's not the only one at Rangers), and an unwritten rule that they will not allow their players to be taken by Celtic.

Celtic will face a Rangers side with momentum, angry and fired up for revenge for what that club and its fans have been through.

These past three seasons have been 'fake', almost worthless, in Scotland. Assuming everything behind the scenes at Ibrox lends itself to Mark Warburton being allowed to continue doing his job with no unreasonable restrictions, normal service should be resumed in 2016-17.

So get ready Celtic, Rangers are coming to get you!