Rangers advanced in Europe whilst Celtic crashed out.
Rangers may be lagging behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership title race, but Davie Provan thinks Neil Lennon may be a little envious of Steven Gerrard.
With the Bhoys having already won the Scottish League Cup and having opened up a 12 points lead at the Scottish Premiership, Celtic are targeting a fourth straight domestic treble.
Rangers crashed out of the Scottish Cup at the hands of Hearts on Saturday, meaning Celtic are now favourites to win the competition and complete a domestic clean sweep yet again.
Yet in Europe, it’s a different story. Rangers are through to the last 16 of the Europa League, setting up an interesting meeting with Bayer Leverkusen having seen off Braga.
Conversely, Celtic lost 3-1 at home to Copenhagen, crashing out of the Europa League with a 4-2 aggregate defeat and ending the prospect of an Old Firm knockout clash.
Celtic fans have been left hugely disappointed, and ex-Bhoys winger Davie Provan has criticised Peter Lawwell for not pushing the boat out in the transfer market.
Provan has told The Scottish Sun that he felt Celtic’s recruitment in the last two windows hasn’t been good enough, believing too many players have been brought in that haven’t improved the starting lineup.
Provan feels that January additions Patryk Klimala and Ismaila Soro just aren’t what Neil Lennon needs right now, and believes he may be slightly jealous of Steven Gerrard for being able to splash £7million on one player in Ryan Kent, even if he hasn’t always produced.
“With a Champions League campaign looming Neil needed some top players. Instead, he got Boli Bolingoli, Luca Connell and Hatem Abd Elhamed,” said Provan. “Seeing Kieran Tierney sold just days before the crucial Champions League qualifier against Cluj was another blow. On the night Celtic went out to the Romanians, Lennon was so unconvinced by Bolingoli, he played McGregor at left-back. Further additions to the squad included Jeremie Frimpong, Moritz Bauer, Mohamed Elyounoussi and Greg Taylor. None of them could go straight into the team and improve it.”
“With Rangers right on Celtic’s case going into the winter break, I’m guessing Lennon would’ve wanted an upgrade in players in the window. With the Tierney money burning a hole in his pocket, Lawwell could have delivered. Instead, it was the same old script with two youngsters signed from leagues in Poland and Israel. No harm to Patryk Klimala and Ismaila Soro, the 21-year-olds might eventually make Celts a fortune in the transfer market. But neither is what Lennon needs right now.”
“On a night Ryan Kent rammed the words of critics back down their throats, Rangers ran the game from start to finish. Gerrard has watched his team blow their title hopes but they gave him some payback in Portugal. Kent’s £7million fee has been used as a rod to beat him but he produced when it mattered. Despite Celts’ massive financial advantage over Gers I’ll bet Lennon would love to spend that type of money on one player,” he added.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
