Josh Windass: If Rangers had beaten Celtic we'd have won the league

Josh Windass believes Rangers would have won the Ladbrokes Premiership title last season had they been able to defeat Celtic in a thrilling Old Firm encounter at Ibrox.
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The home side were beaten 3-2 by their rivals despite twice taking the lead on their own ground.

Rangers went into the match having won nine of their previous ten games in all competitions under Graeme Murty.

Josh Windass celebrates after opening the scoring against Celtic. Picture: SNSJosh Windass celebrates after opening the scoring against Celtic. Picture: SNS
Josh Windass celebrates after opening the scoring against Celtic. Picture: SNS
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Windass opened the scoring before Tom Rogic replied. Celtic striker Moussa Dembele then cancelled out Daniel Candeias’ goal on the stroke of half-time.

It looked as if the pendulum had swung back in Rangers’ advantage after Hoops defender Jozo Simunovic was sent off, but Odsonne Edouard fired in a second half winner for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Instead of cutting the gap at the top to three points, Rangers dropped nine points behind their rivals and never again looked like challenging in the 2017/18 campaign.

Windass, though, insists things would have been different had they managed to earn victory in that match.

Speaking to Simon Ferry on Open Goal, he said: “It’s the most positive I’ve seen a Rangers dressing room and team the whole time I was there.

“He [Murty] was showing clips of our games in Florida and he was like, ‘if we beat these [guys] they’ll crumble’.

“So I score after two minutes, and I remember the ground was rocking. I thought we’re going to spank them. It’s the only time in a Celtic game I thought we’d beat them.

“In at half-time, we’re saying these guys are not as good as they’re made out to be.

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“Into the second half, Simunovic gets sent off and I’m in the game thinking ‘oh my god, we’re going to win the league’.

“We mess up, Edouard bends one in. After that game the whole place changed. Honestly, it was weird. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“If we’d have beat them on that day, yeah [we would have won the league].

“It was the strangest thing. The whole place had just gone after that Celtic game.”