Donnelly suggests alternative reason behind Rangers’ struggles against Celtic

Follow us on Google Discover

Celtic have won five straight games against Rangers at Ibrox.

Former Celtic striker Simon Donnelly believes the Hoops have a hoodoo over Rangers right now and tips his former team to triumph in the Old Firm Scottish Cup semi-final, the Daily Record reports.

The Gers had their best chance to beat rivals Celtic in their recent outing at Ibrox, as they twice went in front and saw the visitors reduced to 10 men with the scores locked at 2-2 and with half an hour left to play.

Instead, though, it was Brendan Rodgers’ men who went on to claim all three points, much to the frustration of the Rangers supporters as they saw their slim Scottish Premiership title chances vanish there and then.

Rangers have not recorded a home win against Celtic since 2012, losing their last five Ibrox clashes, prompting former striker Simon Donnelly to suggest the Hoops have a hoodoo over their rivals.

“Celtic kind of have a hoodoo over Rangers at the moment. I experienced that myself back in the day but it was the other way around. It is not a nice feeling and it plays on you,” Donnelly told the Daily Record.

“I think it played on them at Ibrox. There was that lack of belief as Celtic came back twice. “You could argue that (Alfredo) Morelos should score at the end to get them a draw but the longer the run goes the harder it gets.”

Rangers have a chance to put that Ibrox defeat behind them as they face Celtic in the upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final, yet Donnelly can only see one winner with the strength of Brendan Rodgers’ side.

He added: “I would expect Celtic to win the semi-final. They are going for a back-to-back treble and I think they have the players that will edge it.”

Celtic no doubt have the better squad of the two sides, and the financial benefits of Champions League football means it will be tough for Rangers to close the gap when they are at an obvious disadvantage.

But having said that, both Kilmarnock and Hearts have beaten Celtic this season, the latter thrashing them 4-0 at Tynecastle, so they are very much beatable.

Rangers’ players need to have the belief they can topple them, and they need to find that confidence quickly if they wish to prevent their rivals from completing a successive domestic treble.