Mark Warburton’s Glasgow Rangers side were humbled by the Hoops at Parkhead.
Steven Pressley has suggested to the Daily Record that the main difference between Celtic and Rangers during the first Old Firm meeting of the season was the fact that the Hoops’ big players made sure they had an impact on the game.
After much change amongst both sides since their last meeting, there was plenty of intrigue going into the Parkhead clash, especially following the arrivals of several marquee names over the summer.
However, it was Brendan Rodgers’ men that were celebrating on derby day as a Moussa Dembele hat-trick helped them seal a 5-1 win.
And Pressley – who enjoyed brief spells with both sides during his playing days – has suggested that the Gers’ key players have a lot to answer for following the humbling defeat.
“The experienced players in the Rangers team, Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar and Philippe Senderos, will look back on this in anger,” he told the Record.
“They were the polar opposite of Celtic’s big players. They just didn’t turn up and that had the biggest outcome on the game.
“Now those Ibrox players must suffer and live with the aftermath because over the next week this heavy defeat will be picked apart.”
While Barrie McKay and Josh Windass, and perhaps Kenny Miller, came away from the game with some credit, the likes of Barton, Senderos and Kranjcar all failed to make a positive impression on the fixture and were made to pay.
Scott Brown, Scott Sinclair, Kolo Toure, and, of course Dembele, shone throughout the contest, having capitalised when it became apparent that Mark Warburton’s men were looking lacklustre.
But while Rangers’ big players failed to impress, it will still be they who Warburton will be turning to to make sure the Light Blues respond to the loss in the best way when they face Ross County next weekend.
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