Graeme Souness has sparked fresh debate in the title race after claiming Rangers are actually a better side than Celtic right now — but are being held back by one major flaw.
The former Ibrox player-manager was watching as Celtic knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup on penalties, just days after the Hoops snatched a dramatic late draw in the Premiership. Despite those setbacks, the title picture remains incredibly tight, with just three points separating the top three sides.
And Souness believes the transformation at Rangers under Danny Rohl has been clear to see.
“I never thought he was the right choice in the first place and there was an obvious improvement when Danny Rohl took over,” he told Record Sport.
“Under the previous manager it was not football for…how can I put this in the nicest possible way? It’s not football that I can understand and I can’t understand anyone wanting to play that way.
“Especially at a club like Rangers, where it’s an up and at ’em football club, you have to be on the front foot all the time and not have 100 passes before you cross the halfway line.
“That ain’t football. Not in Scotland. That ain’t football anywhere.”
According to Souness, Rohl has stripped things back — and that simplicity is making a difference.
“Now, they mix it up a bit, they’re less predictable, a little bit . He’s simplified it for the players and thery play a less risky game of football. They’re not having too much possession near their own goal.
“You know, all they need someone to make a sloppy pass with that football we were witnessing before from the previous manager. It can lead to an effort on your goal. I think he’s simplified it, he’s made it less risky for them, and I would imagine, I would imagine, it’s a lot simpler for the players to understand.”
But while he sees clear progress, Souness believes one issue continues to cost Rangers — and it showed again in their cup exit.
“I think they need more goals. They’re a better team than Celtic. That game the other day was decided on penalties, but there was only one team going to win it.
“If you’re trying to attach logic to it, a team that has 24 shots and 120 minutes of football. A team that has one shot in 120 minutes, there should only be one winner. So Rangers can only look at themselves and blame themselves for not winning that game.”
That frustration has been a recurring theme, and Souness insists the root of the problem hasn’t changed for years.
“He’s barely got his feet under the table, and I think we ought to be patient Because what I see, what I saw, at that Old Firm game I was at, all we were missing was, someone to put the ball in the back of the net. I say only, that is the hardest thing to find in football.
“So for me, they need… and going back the last couple of years, that’s where Celtic have been better than Rangers.
“Not in general football terms, but they had better goalscorers, and that’s why they won the league. And we haven’t.”
Despite the criticism, Souness was full of praise for the job Rohl has done since stepping in, especially given the circumstances.
“I think the one person that, deserves all the credit, really, is the manager,” he said. “Because I know how difficult a job that is, and he’s come in, and he seems to have hit the ground running. He’s made common sense decisions. As I said, he’s simplified it for the players he’s got.
“He’s had one transfer window, but when you walk into a football club, you don’t get that job, you don’t get a job as a manager because it’s going well. Very, very, very rarely does that happen, where you’re handed a team that’s strong and going in the right direction.
“So he had to work out quite quickly what suited, what system, what way of playing suited those players, and he’s done that, and I think it’s… as I said, he’s had a common sense approach.”
For Souness, the equation is simple.
Rangers, in his view, now have the structure, the balance, and the control — but without a consistent goalscorer, they risk letting another title slip through their fingers.