‘Celtic had it too easy’: Former Rangers chief takes dig at rivals as Ibrox side turn tables

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Rangers are 21 points ahead of their rivals whose dreams of 10-in-a-row are fading

Dave King has accused Celtic of having it too easy in Rangers’ absence and failing to take full advantage as they swept to Premiership glory without serious competition.

The current champions entered this season in confident manner as history beckoned in the form of a tenth successive league title, but they now find themselves 21 points behind Rangers, who have only 10 games remaining to play.

Former Ibrox chairman King had once predicted that Celtic’s fall from the top would be “like a pack of cards”.

As quoted by the Sun in May 2018, he said: “We appoint a manager who can win games, with more resources, and we take one league title way from Celtic.

“We only need one league title, we don’t need two or three. We need one. Once we take one away, it’s like a pack of cards.”

He looks set to find out if that prophesy holds true in the aftermath of the current campaign, with Steven Gerrard’s men having beaten Celtic in both derbies this season on their way to building a substantial lead at the top of the Premiership.

Speaking on the Rangers Connection podcast this week, King returned to those comments and said: “I spent a lot of time thinking about Celtic. That was the benchmark, the standard we had to get to.

“Looking at Celtic in their build-up to nine in a row, I don’t think they were taking full advantage of the extra resources they had at that time.

“They had no real competition. Aberdeen ran them close a couple of seasons but, with Celtic’s resources, even that should not have happened.

“I felt if we could have a real go at them and get in their faces, they would fold like a pack of cards.

“They’d had it too easy. They were in a league of their own effectively for nearly six seasons because of the absence of Rangers.

“I looked at their European performances and foreign teams weren’t giving them the respect they got in Scotland. I felt if we could get in their faces they would struggle.”

Neil Lennon’s men have the chance to reduce the gap to 18 points on Wednesday night when they face St Mirren in Paisley, while Gerrard’s team are next in action on Saturday when Kilmarnock visit Ibrox.