Hugh Keevins: Last News

Rangers ’ refusal to wear their logo to be settled as a matter of urgency. Two weeks ago most fans could not have told you who sponsored our four leagues or what cinch did if you told them their name.Now, one working week into the league season, they’re the talk of the steamie.

Ange Postecoglou is the height of irony. If any of those who have had anything to do with any major decision taken, on or off the park, concerning Celtic in the last 12 months asked for their competence to be certificated, how do you think they would get on? They would, I suspect, have their case laughed out of court if the supporters, who have witnessed a year-long catalogue of calamity, were to act as judge and jury.

Odsonne Edouard should be benched for the final derby of the season. The Celtic striker is out of contract in the summer of 2022 and seems certain to move on after this season concludes.

Get all the latest Rangers news sent straight to your Inbox every day by signing up to our newsletter.We cover every morsel of information regarding your favourite club in the form of articles, videos and podcasts.The newsletter will arrive every day at 12pm, giving you a round up of the best stories we've covered that in the last 24 hours.To sign up, simply enter your email address into the link here.And if you aren't already, make sure you join the conversation over on our Rangers Facebook group and Record Sport Instagram.A few soap boxes came out. A bit of tub-thumping went on.And all the buzz words associated with righteous indignation were thrown around.Meritocracy.

Celtic manager. A position as yet still vacant, I understand.Not because I think I could do the job or that I might be the preferred choice of anyone in their right mind.

Dave King’s “Deck of cards” jibe at Celtic.It’s happened before. That’s why Dermot Desmond is the principal shareholder and the de facto owner of the club.

Join thousands of fans who have signed up to our Celtic newsletter. Compassion, not contempt, should be the motivation behind removing Neil Lennon from the firing line at Celtic Park.

Celtic won seven-in-a-row, they took five goals off Rangers and put years on the Ibrox support.Callum McGregor scored the fifth goal after just 53 minutes and, but for Jak Alnwick in goal, the final score could have gone down in history.Graeme Murty was carrying the bag for Rangers in the dug-out on an emergency basis and the team he chose had players in it like Daniel Candeias, Jason Cummings, Graham Dorrans and Jason Holt.At the final whistle, Brendan Rodgers went to the area of the ground housing the Green Brigade and held up 10 digits.The symbolism was unmissable.A few days later a motion was put forward in the House of Commons by Scottish MPs who wanted to have parliament acknowledge Celtic’s achievement.

Celtic at the top of the league.Steven Gerrard will then look solemnly into the Sky TV cameras and say there’s a need to be humble because nothing has yet been won by his team.The manager should pick up a BAFTA when he collects his league winner’s medal.How he keeps a straight face is a triumph of mind over matter.

Conor Hazard to play against Rangers at Ibrox next Saturday.

Celtic’s board of directors must have been granted a stay of execution or else the firing squad’s mums and dads wouldn’t let them out so late on a school night.Either that or the would-be assailants put their balaclavas on back to front – and shot themselves in the foot.But seriously, the story has moved on from annoying adolescents and their disturbed dreams about discharging firearms.Celtic’s win over Lille was a congratulatory pat on the head as they went out of the Europa League, finishing bottom of their group.Rangers got the last 32, and the increased prize money that goes with it, after beating Lech Poznan to top their section.If the Celtic Trust fan group were honest they would cancel today’s planned demo before the game against

Celtic’s domestic season stone dead eventually.Sunday, for instance, is potentially the last meaningful day of the defending champions’ league season if they fail to beat St Johnstone.And it took 15 outfield players in total to get a time-added-on win over the Perth side when the two met in October.Peter Lawwell’s statement to the Celtic fans last Tuesday wasn’t really about showing “strength in adversity”.It was more of an appeal for calm while all around him the club’s customer base was going apoplectic.He tried to give the fans clarity.

Celtic man of them all was Billy McNeill.Celtic sacked him.The most loved individual, whose managerial bond with the Hoops fans was more like idolatry, was Tommy Burns.Celtic sacked him.A statue and a plaque outside Celtic Park now vouch for the fact iconic status did not immunise either against dismissal.Neil Lennon may one day have a posthumous symbol of the undeniable good he did for Celtic put on display outside the ground.But for now he has to deal with this world – not the next.The banner calling on Lennon to go, draped outside Celtic Park on Wednesday morning, was a tasteless gesture but the sentiment was accurate.It was also an outward sign of inner fear – that Rangers are too good for Celtic this season.Otherwise why would the

Celtic in every department on the pitch. It’s a major problem if you have to finish above them in order to win 10 In A Row.

Celtic and Rangers, or a bad day at the office for Neil Lennon’s side under difficult circumstances outwith their control? That is the question for the fans to argue over.What I will say is that coronavirus doesn’t explain poor goalkeeping at Rangers’ first goal yesterday.The pandemic doesn’t account for shambolic defending at the second.Or for the atrocious finish from Mohamed Elyounoussi which could have brought Celtic back into the game when they were only one goal down.By the same token, you mend the roof when the sun is shining and Celtic waited until they were being soaked before attempting the repairs.And while we’re at it, the virus doesn’t excuse the lacklustre displays of players such as Olivier Ntcham and Elyounoussi when they

Celtic Park for a piece of the action.● A significant number of living rooms being packed with relatives and friends there to support one team or the other.● Every pub, club and meeting place in the West of Scotland and beyond being thronged by rival fans screaming at television sets showing live coverage of the
 big match.Bio-secure bubble?I don’t think so.Social distancing?Get real.Biological bomb?Now you’re talking Jason Leitch’s language.What if the National Medical Director shows clemency this
 time and lets the derby go on while putting the public on their honour?Only to find that, as a result, transmission of the virus increases to a worrying degree?Who will the fans blame if the next Rangers-Celtic match at Ibrox is not allowed to

Celtic and Rangers refused 
permission to host test events for fans inside their grounds until 
further notice. Connolly allegedly flouting pandemic protocols.Holyrood takes a conservative approach to Scottish football.If they do decide the season has to end prematurely they’ll be handing the SPFL a poisoned chalice.This isn’t just any season.

Boli Bolingoli’s consistently shambolic game.But not knowing your España from your elbow is taking disorientation too far.Now Neil Lennon must hope there are no big rough boys in that KR Reykjavik side who’ll upset Christopher Jullien and Kris Ajer when they face the Icelanders in their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday – or else bad will really go to worse.Players get managers the sack.

I miss Billy now, on the occasion of the first anniversary of his passing, more than I did a year ago today when his death was announced. Not for my sake. I don’t count.