Rangers' lead under threat ahead of Old Firm clash

24 December 2011 18:17

Rangers have looked down on the rest of the Scottish Premier League since late July, but their lead has been cut down to a fragile one point ahead of Wednesday's Old Firm derby against Celtic.

The defending champions had been seven points clear of their arch rivals from across Glasgow at the start of October, and even briefly sat an incredible 15 points clear at one point in November.

However, Ally McCoist's side suffered a disastrous 2-1 defeat at St Mirren on Saturday, ending the game with nine men following the sendings-off of Lee McCulloch and Dorin Goian.

It was their second reverse in their last five outings, in which time they have also recorded far from convincing 2-1 wins at home to struggling duo Inverness and Dunfermline.

Meanwhile, Celtic are unbeaten in 11 league games and have won eight in a row since the beginning of November, including Saturday's 2-1 success at home to Kilmarnock.

Now they know a win at home on Wednesday will take them two points clear at the SPL summit as they seek to end Rangers' three-year stranglehold on the title.

"It was never going to be anything other than hard in the derby," Rangers manager McCoist said of the trip to Celtic Park, where the Light Blues have won on just one of their last six visits.

"We always knew it would be tough. All we can do now is dust ourselves down and we will do. We will be absolutely ready for the game at Celtic Park on December 28."

Of the St Mirren match, McCoist added: "As disappointed with the result as we are, there are one or two encouraging things we can take into our next match. I can assure everybody we will be in the right frame of mind."

Both McCulloch and Goian are set to miss the Old Firm derby through suspension, but McCoist hinted that the Ibrox club will seek to appeal McCulloch's "extremely harsh" straight red, dished out for violent conduct following an elbowing incident against St Mirren's Graham Carey in the first half.

"We will have a look at it again in the next couple of hours and decide whether we are going to appeal," he said. "I'll have a chat with Lee but it's a distinct possibility."

"There is no doubt it changed the game," he added of the card.

"I've seen it once and I would have to say it was extremely harsh. I've had a good chat with Lee McCulloch and he assures me there was no malice at all and he was just trying to fend the boy off. The boy actually had an arm around his waist.

"I'm a bit disappointed with how the boy went down to be honest with you and no physio came on to my knowledge.

"It changed the game, there is no doubt about it, and we are disappointed with it."

Source: AFP