1 week Ago By Sean Wallace
Rangers’ hierarchy must be pressing the panic button inside Ibrox as Aberdeen’s sensational unbeaten Premiership form continues apace. Any hope within Ibrox Aberdeen’s “bubble” would be burst by the heavy Hampden loss to Celtic were rapidly and ruthlessly extinguished at Pittodrie on Saturday. A 4-1 win against Dundee delivered a clear message Aberdeen’s momentum and self-belief under Jimmy Thelin has not been dented by the 6-0 hammering by Celtic.
Aberdeen recently opened up a nine-point advantage over Rangers when outclassing Philippe Clement’s side in a 2-1 win in the Granite City. That win, which could have been more emphatic, offered proof of what the Premiership table was already showing – Aberdeen are a better team than Rangers this season. Obviously Rangers supporters will disagree with that.
But I would suggest they re-watch the game at Pittodrie and look at the table before arguing the status quo of Scottish football is not under threat. Aberdeen hold Premiership nerve This century only one side has reached 10 wins in as few as 11 matches from the start of a Scottish top-flight season and not gone on to win the title – Celtic in 2010-11. It looks increasingly likely it will be a two-way shoot out to finish first and second between Aberdeen and Celtic – with Rangers on the outside looking in.
The red alert button inside Ibrox will be getting hammered like the jump button in the Super Mario world championships. That is because Rangers overhauling Aberdeen to finish Premiership runners-up, or better, now hinges on two factors. One is Rangers delivering a consistent run of victories over an extended period of time.
But Rangers’ longest winning run in the Premiership this season is three games, and they have only done that once. And Clement’s side have lost two of their last four matches. The other factor needed for Rangers to overhaul Aberdeen is a collapse in form by Thelin’s team.
With , that is looking unlikely. Champions League prize up for grabs If there was to be a crash in form, for the “bubble to burst”, it would surely have come after However, the Dons bounced back immediately to show their bottle. Aberdeen keep vaulting over hurdles and tests in the Premiership under Thelin and it must be of major concern to Rangers with so much at stake.
The Premiership winners will not automatically qualify for the 2025-26 Champions League group stage after Scotland dropped out of the Uefa coefficient rankings top 10. This season’s Scottish champions will have to negotiate one qualification round. The Premiership runners-up will enter the Champions League at the second qualifying round.
Three rounds of games will have to be negotiated by the Premiership runners-up to reach the Champions League. Aberdeen can strengthen further Aberdeen are in the box seat to finish second at least, though, and to land a shot at the Champions League and a potential £60million-plus cash bonanza. That would be a game changer for the Dons, Scottish football.
.. and Rangers.
The Dons are also just seven weeks away from the winter transfer window. Aberdeen have funds to strengthen the squad in January Thelin has already proven he is a shrewd operator in the transfer window. He made six permanent signings in the summer and one loan, with every addition making a positive contribution to the Premiership unbeaten run.
Thelin has elevated the Dons to another level with one window – and the assumption must be he can continue that in January..
