The new season hasn’t kicked off yet and already Rangers are being told that they are behind Celtic before a ball is even kicked.

Brendan Rodgers has yet to make a summer signing and despite losing Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo to their parent clubs and Joe Hart to retirement, Celtic have been told that they are still in the driving seat heading into the new season.

With millions of pounds to spend in the transfer market and Rangers needing to find a place to play away from Ibrox, Andy Walker has said his former club now have the ‘advantage’ as Celtic looks to defend their title and the Scottish Cup next season.

‘Struggling’ Rangers up against a ‘well-oiled’ Celtic

The former Celtic striker was asked if he thought that Rangers needing to open the season away from Ibrox would hamper them next season and Walker recalled the experience of needing to play league games at Hampden during the Celtic Park rebuild in the 90s.

“Obviously, it doesn’t help if you’re not playing in those familiar surroundings. You’ll just lose a bit of an edge to your game. It’s all about the team, it’s all about the quality and if you’re winning games, you’re happy to play anywhere.

“Celtic have got an advantage because they’re a better team. They’re a well-oiled machine. I’m sure they will get a few signings in the bag before the season kicks off. As long as they get players in.

“They’ve got a financial advantage, they’ve got a financial muscle that Rangers are struggling to compete with and that’s the key to everything.”

I remember those Hampden days well from attending Celtic home fixtures in the national stadium. It genuinely was awful. The atmosphere was muted and it felt like every game was an away day.

You simply cannot underestimate how influential playing at your home stadium in front of your own fans can be.

We all remember how the Celtic fans roared Ange Postecoglou’s team to a rousing 3-0 win over Rangers to go top of the league back in 2022.

Celtic went on to become champions and from there, Postecoglou never looked back.

Who knows what will happen over at Ibrox as the season edges ever closer, many Celtic fans won’t care. All they will want to see is Brendan Rodgers adding new faces to the team to ensure that progress is made in Europe and that their domestic dominance continues.

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