Rangers unity, trouble in the capital, Celtic fear - The SPFL winners and losers

Rangers show of unity

Cringey, or unifying? There will be those who feel that Rangers players standing in a line, arm in arm, celebrating Saturday’s meek 2-0 win over St Johnstone with the Union Bears was very much the latter. But then the same was said of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who did the exact same thing following a dire 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion in the early throws of his Anfield reign - and they did alright, didn’t they?

The mood at Rangers is low, and it has been for some time. Their appearance in the Europa League final two seasons ago masked how far, and how quickly, they had fallen behind Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic at the time. When the Aussie both departed for Spurs and the Gers were offered a chance to close that gap last year when Brendan Rodgers stuttered on his return to the Hoops, Rangers fluffed their lines. The shining light of a ‘rebuild’ was promised, only for Philippe Clement to admit he has been told he must sell to buy. Oh, and they’re currently locked out of Ibrox.

It is a mess. But in the face of adversity, the fans have continued to show up regardless. Linking arms and toasting an underwhelming win against St Johnstone won’t put extra money into the transfer kitty and it won’t see them suddenly gain parity with a far superior Celtic side, but it could draw a line in the sand between fans and players. Things have been fractured between the pair in recent months, but their moment together was a touching one. Sometimes a symbolic gesture of ‘we’re in this together’ is all that is needed in order to gain momentum.

Is trouble brewing in the capital?

We are only three weeks into the campaign, so the trio don’t need to panic just yet. However, Hearts and Hibs must grab a win soon to stop their poor starts turning into a full-blown crisis. The Jambos’ defeat at second-tier Falkirk will go down as a second-round shock, but the worry for head coach Steven Naismith will be how little it seemed to surprise to Tynecastle fanbase, such has been their weak start to the season. They recruited well in the summer, looked impressive on opening day against Rangers and have the league’s top marksman in Lawrence Shankland. There’s plenty to be positive about, but as their European adventure starts this Thursday against Viktoria Plzen and the games ramp up in Gorgie, the performances need to take a step up too.

As for Hibs, facing Celtic in back-to-back games is no easy feat but to be two goals down before the clock has hit the 20-minute mark in both games is a concern. There’s no shame in losing to the champions, though the manner of the defeat has been really worrying for the Easter Road faithful. It is a new-look squad, but they are playing like complete strangers, have conceded eight goals in three games and scored just once. Mykola Kukharevych’s 35th-minute strike had yanked Hibs right back into the game at Celtic Park but they threw it away just 10 minutes into the second period thanks to comedic defending from Marvin Ekpiteta and Josef Bursik. They need a performance in Saturday’s game against in-form Dundee.

Falkirk on the up

Are the good times coming back at the Falkirk Stadium? Following Saturday’s convincing 2-0 Premier Sports Cup triumph, there were rumours that smiles had began to appear on the usually stony faces of the Kelpies. The Bairns have not lost a domestic league game since May 2023 and have won two in two on their return to the Scottish Championship. A fully deserved weekend win over Hearts will only enhance confidence levels. A regular fixture in the top flight in the noughties, Falkirk have had it rough in the last decade, falling down the divisions and finding themselves seemingly stuck in League One prior to their invincible 23/24 season. It is a long and arduous season for the best of teams in the Scottish Championship, but Falkirk will now feel they can have a real go at back-to-back promotions and place themselves back in the big time for the first time since 2013 come May.

Celtic strike fear

Hoops fans must feel invincible at the moment. Nine goals in three games, a shiny-new £9.5million striker in Adam Idah and a side that has such a rhythm, some pundits are tipping them for an invincible domestic season. Last year was strained at times, with Rodgers’ Celtic return occasionally hitting the buffers during a ding-dong battle with Rangers for the Scottish Premiership title. The fact they ended the season eight points clear despite those occasional blips proved just how far ahead of the pack Celtic really were though come May. This season the Hoops look even better, with the electric pre-season form continuing into their opening league and cup games. Their first three games of the season have affectively been over before half-time and the entire league must be wondering just how to stop them.

Killie struggle

For Kilmarnock, there’s been a worrying contrast between their domestic and European performances. Are Derek McInnes’ players tired from the onslaught of games? Does the squad need bolstered in order to battle on both fronts? Perhaps. It’s a new experience for many in the squad. A heavy defeat at Celtic on opening day is understandable, but the domestic defeats to both St Johnstone and Motherwell must leave supporters scratching their head a little bit.

The defeat to Motherwell in the Premier Sports Cup at the weekend was nowhere near as poor as the thumping they received from St Johnstone the week previous, the needless red card received by Stuart Findlay was damaging, forcing an already tired looking squad to play with ten men for the second weekend running all the way into extra time. The club have brought in just two new faces this summer in the shape Bruce Anderson and young Sunderland full-back Oli Bainbridge and it looks like they may need to add more to the squad if they are to maintain the performances they produced last season.