Glasgow Rangers have endured a tough time since returning to the Scottish Premiership, and Butcher has suggested that the gap to Celtic is going to be extremely difficult for the Ibrox side to close.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers with Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
Terry Butcher has suggested to The Scotsman that a move to Celtic would be much more appealing to the top players in England than a move to Rangers would now be.
Rangers may be back in the Scottish Premiership now, but the Old Firm meetings have symbolised how great the gap between the two rivals currently is, with the Hoops undefeated in six games, winning five and beating the Gers 5-1 both home and away.
And Butcher – who famously left the English game for Ibrox in 1986 at an age when many defenders reach the peak years of their career, and subsequently went on to win three league titles – has admitted that Pedro Caixinha has a much harder task trying to convince better players to join the Gers than Brendan Rodgers has luring stars to Parkhead.
“If you are a player in England right now, thinking of moving, then you would look at Celtic and say ‘Yeah, I really fancy that’,” he told The Scotsman. “That’s because of the manager, because of the fans, because of the history, because of the way the team is playing and because of the success they are having, especially in terms of getting into the Champions League.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
“Rangers doesn’t hold that same appeal. It still has fantastic tradition, great history and a huge support – but the standard on the pitch at the moment would not appeal to top players.
What will be giving Caixinha some optimism heading into the summer is that Celtic did not spend huge sums of money last summer with Moussa Dembele costing just £500,000 (via Get West London) while £3.5 million was spent on Scott Sinclair (via Daily Mail).
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
Although Rangers’ summer spending from last summer would suggest that spending £3.5 million on one player may be unlikely in the near future, the respective fees arguably prove that there is definitely massive bargains out there that could potentially help Rangers close the gap if they are able to enjoy an excellent summer.
And although Butcher believes that joining Celtic may appeal more right now, Rangers’ history and stature will undoubtedly still appeal to good players, so having some luck in the coming window could be all it takes for the gap to start closing.
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