Doing Just Enough May Not Be Good Enough for Celtic

CELTIC walked out on to the pitch at the Caledonian Stadium on Sunday, knowing that anything other than a win would hand Rangers a massive boost going into the Old Firm Derby at Parkhead on February 15.

For if Rangers are to win in the East End, they will go top of the Scottish Premier League, an occurrence so rare these days for the Govan club, it could well just provide them with the impetus they need to stall Celtics domestic dominance.

To think that Strachan's side have been seven points clear of Rangers—twice—makes the fighting spirit within the Ibrox camp all the more impressive. Despite even that demoralising defeat at Ibrox, when Scott McDonald's wonderful finish set Celtic seven points clear for the second occasion this season, Rangers haven't given up the ghost, exemplified in their dogged if unspectacular victory over Craig Levein's team on Saturday.

Celtic, on the other hand, have wandered around the SPL aimlessly, a win here, a few draws there, a defeat there, the 0-0 draw at Inverness being the most recent example of this apparent malaise.

Since defeating Rangers at Ibrox, Celtic have won only five points out of a maximum twelve. Going back further than the last Old Firm Derby, Celtic have only picked up only twleve points from their last eight matches. So what is happening at Celtic Park? Is it a blip? Are the Champions becoming complacent? Or are Celtic doing just enough to stay ahead of their beleaguered rivals?

Rangers financial woes have been well documented over the last few years. Chairman David Murray will not be making any more statements about spending £10 when Celtic spend £5. The rumours are that Rangers are in dire financial straits, and it will simply be a matter of fact that every January, or every summer, they will look to sell one of their most saleable assets to appease their creditors.

The problem for Celtic is that they don't even spend £5 themselves anymore. Respect and admiration must be bestowed on the board at Celtic Park for the way they have run a tight financial ship, especially in current financial climates. Celtic are only £3 million in the red, and a good run in Europe next year could see the club hit the black.

But this is a club that has been involved in the Champions League every season bar two since 2001. This is a club that has won the SPL title six times out of the last eight. Money should be available to invest in problem areas of the squad.

This is a club that should be so utterly dominant in Scotland, light years ahead, yet this is still a club crying out for a quality left back, central defender and striker, and still only two points ahead of one of the worst sides ever to wear the light blue of Rangers.

The board at Celtic Park, for the time being at least, seem reluctant to invest in the squad with any real pedigree or quality. Gone, seemingly, are the days when £6 million could be outlayed on a player that would enhance not just the squad, but the first team.

The board at Celtic Park are content to do just enough to stay ahead of a Rangers side that are in troubled waters. A Rangers side that is getting progressively worse each year. Celtic, too, are becoming a poorer side with each passing year: it seems to me that Peter Lawwell uses Rangers as the barometer of this decline in quality, and looks to see just how far he can let the quality on show at Celtic Park slip, whilst still retaining the title and qualification for the Champions League.

The fact of the matter is that this shows poor ambition from a club that should have left Rangers trailing in their wake, whilst consistently making inroads in the latter stages of Continental competition on a regular basis. It's a situation that has its roots as far back as the departure of Henrik Larsson, in 2004, the season after Celtic reached the final of the UEFA Cup. That this monumental player was allowed to leave with money not being spent on a replacement even a quarter as good, was surely a sign of things to come.  

Had Celtic reached the apex of their ambition in their journey to Seville, and that heartbreaking extra time defeat to Jose Mourinho's Porto? Certainly, after Marin O' Neills departure, and Strachans arrival, players were not bought to suggest that such a journey would be possible again.

Qualification for the Champions League and the £10 million or so windfall that goes with it seems to be the ultimate goal. Sometimes, Celtic may even be fortunate enough or punch above their collective weight to such a degree that they reach the last 16.

In fact, that Gordon Strachan achieved that feat, two years on the trot, with the squads he had at his disposal, was truly remarkable.

One day, whenever that will be, Rangers will be back on a sound financial footing. The troubled years will be left behind and a new, clean slate will be theirs to work on. I can say this with conviction as it has always been thus between the big two in Scottish football. One side falls into decline on and off the park, whilst the other cleans up. Celtic nearly went out of business in 1993, but survived, and came roaring back to eventually end Rangers dominance.

I have no doubt Rangers will recover. When, I have no idea, how, I have no idea, but Rangers won't be allowed to go to the wall like Celtic so nearly were. The question is, when they recover, will Celtic have done enough by then to stay ahead?