Glasgow Rangers chairman Dave King caused a recent storm, with many Celtic fans taking exception to what the Ibrox chief said about their achievements.
Rangers chairman Dave King has explained to the Telegraph that his recent comments regarding the gap between the Gers and Celtic were not made to take anything away from Brendan Rodgers’ side, but rather to highlight to how far his side have come in recent times.
King caused a furore by suggesting in comments that were reported by the Evening Times that the Hoops had not extended the gap between the two Old Firm sides by as much as they could have done, despite the fact that Rodgers’ men finished the campaign having won three trophies and had remained unbeaten in domestic games, ending the Scottish Premiership season 39 points clear of Pedro Caixinha’s side.
Rangers chairman Dave King
But in response to the backlash he received after making the comments, King has looked to clarify the message he was trying to make.
“I have nothing but respect for Brendan Rodgers and the Celtic team for what they achieved and for how difficult it is to win a treble and to keep winning when you’re already doing it comfortably,” he told the Telegraph.
“I do not underestimate what Celtic achieved on the field. However, in the interviews I said that – when I look back over the four years when we were in the lower divisions – in terms of our recovery as an institution and as a club, we have narrowed the gap substantially.
“By that I meant that, a year or two years ago, we would not have been able to react as we did last season by changing the management, spending money on a new manager, paying compensation, bringing him in early and, in fact, getting the quality of players that he wanted.”
It is hardly a surprise that the Hoops supporters were left perplexed by King’s initial comments as there was so little they could have done to make themselves look even more dominant in Scotland last season as they only dropped points on four occasions in the top flight.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
But King has now seemingly clarified that his comments were meant to be based on what the Gers have done since they were in doldrums at the bottom of the pyramid.
But he has arguably put his manager and squad under an enormous amount of pressure to try and make up more ground to their bitter rivals as Celtic fans will surely be only too happy to remind him of what he has said if they manage to maintain their dominance.
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