Steven Naismith knows Celtic are miles ahead of Rangers.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are superior in every way to their rivals and the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership table tells the same story.
Celtic lead the division by a significant 16 point lead having beaten St Mirren 5-2 in Paisley while the Light Blues faltered at home once again in a defeat to Motherwell that everyone saw coming.
Naismith acknowledges that his former club are in trouble while Celtic don’t seem to be slowing down with their trophy haul being strengthened every season and the financial difference growing all the time.
Steven Naismith admits Rangers are ‘so far behind’ Celtic
For the ex-Hearts manager, it has become a “sad” state of affairs as Gers continue to limp towards the end of their season with nothing much to play for.
He even outlined four specific elements of Celtic’s behind the scenes working where they are stronger than Rangers and so far ahead of the Ibrox outfit.
“It’s sad. It’s sad because they’re so far back, they’re so far behind Celtic, in terms of recruitment, the style and the quality of the squad to the trophies they’ve won,” Naismith said.
It’s a combination of years of making terrible decisions on recruitment. People that are ‘Rangers men’, saying we are going to do this and that. Looking back now they’re not – they’ve not done the best for the club.
They’ve done the best for the club, which also suits themselves and that’s been from managers to further up the food chain. That’s why the club is so far back, that’s why they’ve lost so much money over the years.
“That’s the problem, I think it needs to have the real people that want the best for the club and not their self-interest. The proof is in the pudding. The squad’s not where it needs to be, the recruitment’s not where it needs to be. Unfortunately they’re a bit away from their biggest rivals.”
Why Celtic’s dominance won’t end any time soon
Naismith is not the only one this week to talk of the difference between the two clubs.
Neil Lennon described it as a “chasm” between Celtic and Rangers.
Celtic are officially Scotland’s most successful club having overtaken their foes in recent years and it does not appear to be stopping any time soon with the Premier Sports Cup already in the bag.
The Premiership title will also stay at Celtic Park and there’s a small matter of the Scottish Cup to also be played for this term with Rangers already papped out of that competition.
Philippe Clement was sacked and replaced by interim head coach Barry Ferguson and the most Rangers backroom staff we’ve ever seen.
But that won’t help them this year and with Rodgers at the helm with the Hoops, we don’t expect Celtic’s dominance to end for the foreseeable future.
