Rangers fans must be exhausted from their pursuit of Celtic at this point. No matter how hard they try, the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership remains the same. Michael Beale has improved their performance in the league, but Ange Postecoglou’s team is an immovable object. Every time a managerial position opens up in England, speculation arises linking Postecoglou with a move away from Celtic, but he has remained in Glasgow. His players have been instrumental in thwarting Rangers’ chances of catching up – Reo Hatate scored two goals in a 3-0 win in February 2022, Liel Abada scored two in a 4-0 rout last September and Kyogo Furuhashi scored a double in the League Cup final in February.
In December, Callum McGregor scored a late winner to deny Rangers a breakthrough in the title chase, while Kyogo equalised with two minutes left in the previous Premiership Old Firm game. St Mirren were 1-0 up approaching the hour mark, but Celtic scored five times from that point, and Hibernian were holding them at 1-1 with nine minutes left before they won 3-1. Rangers have been unable to make any progress in the table, despite their impressive run of 14 wins and a draw from 15 league games under Beale. If Postecoglou’s team win six of their remaining eight games, Rangers’ 100 points won’t be enough to catch them.
Beale has some tough decisions to make this summer. Eight players are out of contract, including Filip Helander and Steven Davis, and Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield are not regular starters. Allan McGregor is 41 and will likely retire. Beale has £10-£15m a year in wages to play with and must decide if Ryan Kent is offering value for money, if it’s time for Alfredo Morelos to go and if Malik Tillman is worth the £4-£6m it would take to get him on a permanent deal from Bayern Munich.
Saturday’s Old Firm game at Celtic Park will be a daunting task for Rangers, with no away fans to give them encouragement. The last three meetings have finished 4-0, 1-1 and 3-0, with seven of Celtic’s eight goals coming in the first half. Defeat will make it a 12-point lead for the champions. Beale needs to find some gems this summer if Rangers are to stand any chance of catching up with Postecoglou’s relentless team.