For a number of years now the Celtic fans have continually been told how Rangers are coming to take away their dominance of Scottish football.
When Giovanni van Bronckhorst was the manager the Hoops support were told Ange Postecoglou would fail after the Australian asserted Celtic’s dominance in his first season.
Then came Michael Beale and once again the narrative was recycled during Celtic’s treble-winning season.
And this season, under Brendan Rodgers, Celtic were written off for the title after a poor patch of form saw Philippe Clement claim top-spot in the Scottish Premiership for all of around ten days.
But when it came to the crunch, under all these managers, Rangers failed to beat Celtic when it really mattered in the Glasgow Derby, which is why Celtic are now on the brink of their third title in a row.
Celtic have gotten into Rangers’ head
Mark Wilson was asked why he thought Celtic have been so dominant in the fixture over the past few seasons when the former Hoops defender explained why the Ibrox side struggle against the Parkhead club.
Wilson said [Sky Sports], Well, it may be a mentality issue from a Rangers perspective. They really do struggle with this fixture.
“They’ve only won one in the last ten and even then that was last year when the league was wrapped up.
“So when it really comes to the crunch in these fractures Philippe Clement’s men can’t get the job done.
“And you saw that quick-fire double [when Celtic went 2-0 up] showed where Rangers were at that point.”
Whilst Rangers did pull a goal back quickly, for the second derby in a row, Celtic asserted their dominance on the fixture early.
What also helps is having a manager who has a good track record in the fixture and the experience of knowing what it takes to win or get a result at Ibrox.
And as the possibility of wrapping the league title looms nearer, another Glasgow Derby beckons at the end of the month.
If Celtic wins that and the Scottish Cup that comes with it, another marker and psychological blow will already have been laid for next season as the first meeting of the two will be at Parkhead.