Alan Hutton has delivered a blunt verdict on the state of Glasgow’s Old Firm rivalry at present.
The former Rangers defender insists no Celtic player would get into Derek McInnes’ current side right now.
In the Daily Record interview with Alan Hutton via Footballpredictions.com, he was asked to pick a combined Old Firm XI based purely on current form. His answer left little room for doubt.
“To be totally honest and only going on form at this moment in time, I would say no Celtic players get into the Rangers XI.
“If you’d asked me this question a month ago, it would have been a lot different, because Celtic started the season well, Rangers didn’t.”
That caveat matters. Hutton is clear this is a snapshot rather than a permanent shift, though it still lands as a striking one given how long Celtic have set the pace domestically.
The theme echoes confidence issues highlighted by Ally McCoist after Rangers’ derby double this month, and Hutton pointed to the upheaval under McInnes to explain why his verdict has turned so firmly in Rangers’ favour.
“There were a lot of new players that were trying to bed in. So going on just form, I don’t think there’s any that would get into the Rangers team at this moment in time. It’s taken the new signings a little bit of time [at Rangers], and I always thought there would be such a big transition from last year, especially with the manager and then I think it’s fourteen players that have come in.”
The £31.6m squad collapse and Rangers’ 14-player rebuild
McInnes brought in fourteen players last summer, an overhaul that included Dan Neil, Minsu Kim, Olwethu Makhanya and James Penrice.
Hutton admits it took time for that group to click, but he now rates the squad’s progress at seven out of ten following the recent victory at Ibrox over Celtic.
“I was a little bit worried at the start of the season, but now I’m looking at it with the likes of Kim Min-su, Makhanya, Penrice. Shankland was scoring goals before his injury. I think things are starting to look up. I’d probably rate it round about seven out of ten.
“I think there are still players within the squad that need a little bit more time to adapt to a new culture, a new environment, the expectations of the team. But overall, I’d say about seven, it’s starting to come good now. We’re actually seeing Derek McInnes’ side.”
Kim’s growing influence has been clear as time goes on, and Hutton’s comments suggest the wider summer intake is finally bedding in together.
Celtic’s summer looked very different on paper. The Parkhead club brought in six new arrivals: Camillo Duran, Kasper Hogh, Mika Baur, Haïssem Hassan, Joel van den Berg and Jordan Lotomba.
That outlay was significant, yet it is Rangers who have the stronger start to show for it.
Evaluating the numbers behind Celtic’s high-priced slump
The gap between spending and output is where Hutton’s argument bites hardest. Kasper Hogh arrived for £11m and has gone seven games without a goal, a return that falls well short of what that fee demands from a forward.
Celtic’s stumble goes beyond one player. They went into the international break after three straight defeats: to Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup, to Ferencvaros in the Europa League, and to Rangers again in the league.
They had already been knocked out of the Champions League playoff round by Austrian side LASK. Taken together, that run raises real questions about how the Rangers F.C. vs Celtic F.C. lineups will compare when the sides next meet.
“There will be a worry at Celtic after the previous two games. If you look at Celtic as a whole, the bigger games that they’ve played in, the likes of LASK, Ferencvaros, the double against Rangers, they haven’t been to standard.”
International break trepidation and McInnes’ cup push
Hutton believes Celtic’s long spell of domestic dominance has left them unprepared for pressure like this.
“Over whatever amount of years, Celtic have been miles in front. So they haven’t really had to worry so much about Rangers, but this is probably a moment in time where going into the international break, they’re probably a little bit fearful.”
“Having said that, they’ve been through the course multiple times, have won so many trophies, they’ll feel that they can still claw back, but I think there will be a small amount of trepidation moving forward at this moment in time. He wouldn’t say it out in public, but Derek McInnes would have absolutely loved it after what happened to Hearts last season. I know that for sure.”
For McInnes, the timing could hardly be better. Rangers will go into the restart having shown a physical edge over Celtic across both derby wins this month, and Hutton believes the manager will feel he can push on in the Premier Sports Cup too.
“Rangers were also going into these two games under pressure. They were, especially after the exit from European football. These were two huge games. So to get through to a semi-final against Aberdeen, the winner plays one of the two Edinburgh clubs, he’ll feel that he can go the distance in that.
“As well as the way last season finished, obviously it was very difficult at Celtic Park. So to then back the league after the cup and win away at Celtic, it’s very sweet for him, I’m sure.”
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