It started with a win over Aberdeen and it ended with one too.
When Steven Gerrard’s Rangers claimed a 1-0 win at Pittodrie on the opening day of the season back in August, the signs were there that the Ibrox club would challenge for the Scottish Premiership title. Few, however, would have predicted just dominant they would be.
Indeed, Rangers have swept all before them in Scotland this season, going the full league campaign unbeaten for the first time in 122 years. They have kept an incredible 26 clean sheets in 38 games, conceding just four goals at home and surpassing the 100-point mark with 32 victories and six draws. Nobody in the Scottish Premiership has been able to lay a glove on the Govan outfit.
Some will point to Scottish football’s lack of depth to minimise Rangers’ achievement in going 38 games unbeaten, but one needs to only look at their performances in Europe this season to gauge the quality of the team Gerrard has built. There is still a sense Rangers could have got even further than the last 16 of the Europa League. They are a good side.
As already referenced, Gerrard built this season’s success on a sound defensive foundation. While the likes of Scott Arfield, Ryan Kent and Kemar Roofe have all enjoyed strong campaigns further forward, Rangers’ season has been defined by the performances of James Tavernier (who has also contributed 19 goals), Connor Goldson, Borna Barisic and Allan McGregor.
Rangers won all 19 of their home fixtures in the league. They set a new record for the lowest number of goals conceded (13) over a full season while scoring an average of 2.4 goals per game themselves. The 25-point between Rangers and the chasing pack was a true reflection of their superiority.
Of course, it’s not so long ago that Celtic achieved similar levels of dominance under Brendan Rodgers. The Hoops’ Quadruple Treble still stands as one of the greatest achievements of any Scottish team in the modern age, as does the record 106 points tally of the 2016/17 season, but the drop-off since then has been dramatic.
The gap Celtic must now make up on Rangers is as big as the one Rangers had to make up on Celtic just a few years ago. While Gerrard has undoubtedly improved his side, the collapse of Celtic has provided the other side of the story of this season in Scotland. The Hoops have a lot of work ahead of him.
Celtic have to start a comprehensive rebuild this summer. Captain Scott Brown is already confirmed to be joining Aberdeen while Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard are expected to leave the club before the start of next season. Those three players have been the spine of Celtic’s team for a number of years.
The rebuild will even extend to the boardroom, where chairman of 18 years Peter Lawwell has been succeeded by Dominic McKay. And to the dugout, where Eddie Howe is the frontrunner to replace interim manager John Kennedy this summer. Celtic are also believed to be in the market for a sporting director to modernise their structure as a club.
Rodgers was handed significant funds to build his Celtic team and Howe, if he’s to be the club’s next manager, will require similar backing, especially if the likes of Ajer and Edouard are sold. There isn’t an area of the Celtic squad that doesn’t require reconstruction. Goalkeepers, centre backs, full backs, central midfielders, strikers - they need them all. Shrew recruitment will be crucial.
Things can change quickly in football, but Rangers are well-placed to dominate for the next few years in Scotland. Even if this summer sees one or two key players leave (Kent has been heavily linked with Leeds while Alfredo Morelos has had his suitors), Gerrard has the squad to absorb their loss. Roofe, for instance, is ready to reach another level if he can stay fit.
It took Gerrard three years to mould his Rangers side into champions, and into ‘Invincibles.’ Celtic’s next manager might need to a similar timeframe to turn around a club that became complacent in its success. Now, a new standard has been set at the top of Scottish football. Gerrard’s ‘Invincibles’ will take some catching.