Chris Sutton knows it. And now Rangers fans are starting to realise it, including Ibrox Noise. That is to say that Celtic are clearly in freefall. Out of the Premier Sports Cup and collapsing domestically with another huge bump, the Parkhead side are there for the taking. And Celtic legends slaughtering O’Neill has become regular.

Speaking on Sky Sports the Celtic legend/stroll (take your pick) admitted:

“Martin [O’Neill] is not going to say it, of course he’s not, but the club is in regression. The team is in regression. They’re just not a good functioning team at this moment in time. Martin can turn around and say that Celtic are top of the league, OK, but let’s talk about Europe. Celtic are ahead of a team from an outpost, Azerbaijan or Armenia, and that’s it. They’ve been woeful in Europe, and Celtic fans quite rightly expect more. Has Martin been given everything he would have desired in terms of players in the transfer window? Well, we know that story. But you have to say, should the team be performing better on the pitch? There’s this big debate. Is it about Shaun Maloney and Fozzy [Mark Fotheringham] and their coaching, or is it on Martin? Well, this is all on Martin because essentially he employs the coaches, delegates and asks them to play and train in a certain way. And it’s hard to see how Celtic are actually set up. It is a bit off the cuff. I mean, the way Celtic look like scoring a goal is to get the ball out to [Haissem] Hassan and hope he can do something. And that’s the way it’s been essentially all season. It’s on Martin, yeah. He is the manager.”

Naturally, we know that we’ve been through this many times before. We’ve been inundated with Celtic fans on our social media channels mocking us for ‘having hope’. Then, we’ve only seen the balloon pop as Celtic regain control.

Celtic Are Heading in the Wrong Direction

There is, however, a slight difference here. Rangers now have the infrastructure in place for long term success, whereas Celtic are going in the other direction.

Celtic’s manager is no longer the right man for the gig, if he ever even was. He scraped a very fortunate title over Hearts last season. And now he sees that while his side are top of the table, it is not exactly by merit.

Rangers have not been a lot better this season. But in the last month, there has been a small sea change. The double victory for Rangers over Celtic was a big clue. And the fact that Celtic have dropped five points in the league since then is another.

Rangers, of course, have dropped four, so it’s not like we’ve been imperious. But Rangers have been given a chance. Celtic have now opened the door for Rangers to walk through.

And Celtic fans know this. They know their team is not in a good place. They also know that the board structure and management system are not either.

Chris Sutton Recognises Celtic’s Decline

It is not like Rangers are a lot better. But Rangers are a team that are creaking upwards, whereas Celtic are a team in freefall.

And Sutton, to name one of many, recognises and accepts this. There’s a resignation in Parkhead circles that their team is going downhill.

Of course, the big clue has been the absolutely abject performances in Europe. The quip Celtic fans are using to point score against Rangers is that at least they’re in Europe.

But, of course, they’re not there on merit from qualifying. Celtic did not win a single qualification round. Thanks only to Rangers’ coefficient successes over the years, Celtic found themselves parachuted into a tournament where they were out of their depth.

They are bottom of the Europa League, and that pretty much sums up where they actually are right now.

Rangers have never been this bad in the Europa League, even under Russell Martin or Danny Röhl. So there’s no question that Celtic are out of their depth, which is slightly laughable at that level. No wonder Celtic legends slaughtering O’Neill has become regular.

Derek McInnes Must Take Advantage

But, of course, all of this Celtic freefall means absolutely nothing if Rangers stumble as well.

Derek McInnes, as we have said before, has shown a predilection for hijacking Rangers with stupid, bizarre team selections. These are not even geared towards winning.

His management at the weekend saw victory despite it rather than because of it.

Consequently, as much as we can try to take advantage of Celtic’s collapse, we must actually seize the day. Failing to exploit that collapse would be tantamount to sacrilege.

Rangers Fans Can Finally Enjoy Celtic’s Misery

Time will tell if Rangers can do that. But for the short term at least, Rangers fans can have a jolly good laugh at Celtic.

Although there’s not been a shark in sight yet….