Brendan Rodgers returned to Celtic with perfect timing. Again.
After years away, he resurfaced in 2023 to take the reins of a club already favourites in a one-horse race. Rangers, having begun to spiral under the misguided tenure of Michael Beale, were rudderless.
The squad was bloated, misfiring, past its prime and held together by short-term patches. Behind the scenes, the Ibrox board was fractured, reactive to fan pressure, and out of its depth.
Rodgers saw the opening, just as he had in 2016 when his first Celtic stint began with Rangers still reeling from lower-league recovery and run by a carousel of underqualified or underfunded managers.
Warburton was well intentioned but lacked the grit to be the top man at Ibrox, Caixinha, Murty… they were never serious threats.
Rodgers collected trophies unchallenged. But when Gerrard started building a team with structure and intent, one that looked on the road to a challenge and one that finally defeated his Celtic side, Rodgers bolted. He didn’t fancy a fair fight then. He won’t fancy one now.
Which brings us to the present, and a new threat that Celtic, and Rodgers in particular, are sleepwalking toward.
This is not the same Rangers, we may still have shortcomings on the park but off it we are a different animal.
The 49ers-backed rebuild at Ibrox represents a structural and cultural reset. There’s money, yes, not unlimited finances but a welcome and needed boost, but more importantly, there’s now a vision.
Rangers have appointed a modern-thinking manager in Russell Martin, brought in a sporting director with a long-term remit, and begun replacing the fractured old recruitment model with something fit for 2025, not 1995 or 2015.
Everything about the new era suggests planning, alignment, and ambition, three things that had been missing.
Rodgers has benefitted massively from Rangers being in transition. The 2023/24 title win was deserved and Celtic did well to recover late season and see us off but came with caveats: Rangers were working with a squad assembled on mismatched philosophies, overseen by a manager who didn’t grasp the league or the expectations, and burdened by years of boardroom inertia.
In truth by the time Philippe Clement came in, the damage was already done by the board and his predecessor Beale.
Rodgers got the job done, but once again he didn’t have to deal with a true rival in full flow. That’s about to change.
The Ibrox rebuild will not be instant, but the trajectory is already shifting. Players will arrive who suit Martin’s pressing and possession-based style. Money will be spent, wisely this time.
The fitness culture, tactical identity, and internal standards are all being raised. Rangers are not just coming for Celtic, they’re coming for the aura of control Rodgers has cloaked himself in.
And that’s the issue. Celtic have grown comfortable, fat on success, arrogant, even.
Their recruitment has stagnated. Their squad has holes in key areas, from the heart of defence, Cameron Carter-Vickers aside to centre-forward depth post Kyogo, they are now reliant on Daizen Maeda, who while he had a wonderful season, lacks true footballing quality outside his pace and work ethic.
The football is serviceable, not scintillating, this has been pointed out by their own support who have seen the squad and style of play regress since the departure of Ange Postecoglou at their peak.
It’s all just good enough, for now. And Rodgers, with only a year left on his deal, seems content to drift. There’s no real sense of long-term strategy. No sign he’s committed to building something for the future.
That suits him, because if Rangers get it right and the tide turns, he has his escape route. Just like Leicester. Just like last time. He’s not in Glasgow for a war of attrition. He’s here for the trophy parades and soft-landing gloat and dig filled, interviews. If that’s at risk, he’ll be gone before the smoke clears.
The problem for Celtic is that this time, they might not be the ones writing the story. Rangers have the momentum behind the scenes. They have leadership. They have direction. And if they start fast this season, Celtic’s house of cards, built on Rodgers’ comfort and Rangers’ past chaos, could collapse in spectacular fashion as it did under Neil Lennon when Rangers started a season with real intent.
Rodgers won't wait around to fix it. He never does.
And Celtic, once again, may find that hubris is a poor substitute for hard work.
But for Rangers, none of this is guaranteed. Ambition is one thing, execution is another. The 49ers’ money and Martin’s ideas bring promise, but football is unforgiving.
Recruitment must be sharp, the dressing room has to buy in fast, and Martin, still unproven at this level, needs to show he can handle the pressure of managing in Glasgow’s goldfish bowl. A few bad results, a slow start, and the optimism could quickly turn to scrutiny. A sight we’ve seen before.
Celtic may be complacent, but they’re not incompetent. They still have match-winners, title experience, and a squad and support used to success.
If Rangers stumble in this new era, the gap could widen before it narrows. And if Martin’s project doesn’t deliver quickly, the questions won’t just be asked of Rodgers, they’ll be fired straight at Ibrox and our new ownership
The margins are fine. The stakes are massive. And for once, both sides know they can't afford to get it wrong.
The war for Glasgow dominance is back on, and it’s just beginning.