Rangers were beaten by Kilmarnock in midweek in the Premiership and all of a sudden it looks like the Gers have fallen behind on the title race.
Celtic scored a late winner on Sunday to pick up all three points against Aberdeen which means the Hoops have a ten-point lead at the top of the table.
Initially, it seemed like Steven Gerrard’s men have what it takes to end the Celtic dominance in the SPFL and pick up the trophy. And to be honest, during the first half of the season, this dream seemed pretty achievable.
Now though, it’s clear that Celtic are showing their class and are peeling out at the top of the table. And according to pundit Charlie Nicholas, Rangers will not be able to catch up with the Hoops since they lack the mental toughness.
Writing in his Daily Express column he said: “The problem for Rangers is that Celtic have a real dominance over them in terms of mental toughness.
“At times you don’t have to play well, be the best or the most skilful.
“If you have a togetherness and understanding along with a mentality that you never give in, then more often than not you will be able to see games and situations out and that is exactly what this Celtic team do.
“The Celtic fans might not want to admit this, but Brendan Rodgers gave them a momentum, a belief and a confidence.
“Celtic were gifted a lot of titles in the early years of this winning run, but you can only beat what is in front of you.
“I’m not Scott Brown’s greatest fan in terms of talent, but the mental capacity he has is undeniable.
“He gets the best out of people and his fellow players look up to him. In contrast, when you look at Rangers, they don’t really have somebody like that.
“Celtic’s 2-1 win at Aberdeen was the perfect example of the Parkhead side’s mental edge. Celtic were poor and the conditions were far from ideal, but they still came out on top in a game where Aberdeen were probably the better team.
“People say this league is all decided on the Old Firm games but it isn’t. It comes down to grinding out results and winning games when you are not at your best.
“Celtic dug in to get wins at Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Livingston – Rangers still don’t have that.
“Gerrard can coach and improve his players, but he can’t make them mentally tougher until they get over that winning line.”
