Hartson: Hoops deserve credit
Celtic striker John Hartson has complained that Rangers’ current plight has denied the Parkhead side credit for their fine recent run of form.
The Hoops’ comprehensive 3-0 victory over Alex McLeish’s side in the Bank of Scotland Premier League on Saturday – which put the leaders 15 points ahead of the beleaguered Ibrox outfit – came just 11 days after a similarly convincing 2-0 win over the Govan men in the quarter-finals of the CIS Insurance Cup.
However, despite Celtic extending their unbeaten run to 13 games, most of the focus has been on McLeish and his future.
Speaking at the promotion of his DVD, Celtic Dragon, Hartson said: “I know it’s not the best Rangers side in the world that we’re up against but we don’t seem to be getting any credit at all for the way we are playing.
“Leading up to that last Old Firm game, all the talk was about how poor a side they are and how much their manager is under pressure.
“We had played exceptionally well against Rangers in the quarter-final of the CIS Cup and then we hammered them at the weekend but there was nothing said about our performance.
“We played them off the park in both games, we scored five goals and didn’t concede and still all the talk is about them and their manager.
“Old Firm games are incredibly difficult no matter who you come up against in terms of personnel because they mean so much to both sets of players.
“People should realise that they came up against a very good side.
“Any time you pass to a player in our team, you are passing to a good player.
“A couple of poor things happened to us at the beginning of the season. We lost the Old Firm and obviously went out of Europe.
“A club like Celtic should be competing in Europe every year but since then we’ve all picked ourselves up and we’ve played really well.
“We’ve quietly gone about our business in the correct manner but I don’t feel that we’ve had the credit that we should be getting.”
Despite the Hoops’ lead over their rivals, Hartson refused to rule the Ibrox side out of the title race just yet.
He said: “I wouldn’t say by any means that they are dead and buried.
“I still think there’s a few more twists to come but if you are talking about us and Rangers, we are 15 points clear and we’d obviously rather be that than 15 points behind.”
The Welshman also had time to spare a thought for the under-fire Light Blues boss ahead of Rangers’ crucial Champions League match against Porto.
He said: “I wish Alex McLeish well. He’s a gentleman. I like him a lot and I wish him well.”
