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That is now four wins and a draw in their past five meetings for Rangers against Celtic. After years of lording it over their great rivals, Celtic are decidedly inferior and suffering. The

skill and iron discipline of Rangers — and a 39-year-old goalkeeper who refuses to be beaten — were three ingredients of this latest Steven Gerrard triumph. Rangers have romped to the title,

swatting Celtic along the way, and now a league-and-cup double is surely in the offing. Some argue that Gerrard had been given far longer than most to remain trophyless and stay in the job

but he might be on the brink of making up for lost time. The Rangers manager must still kick himself over that Betfred Cup knockout by St Mirren in December but a double, if it comes, would

still feel extremely satisfying to him. Kenny’s own goal summed up a season in which he has offered little at the back, or going forward IAN MACNICOL/GETTY Allan McGregor was magnificent for

Rangers. So was Steven Davis, Joe Aribo and, in various darting moments, Ryan Kent. Gerrard’s team is strewn with self-belief and you saw it in the body language of Rangers yesterday. Yet

these were still a slightly weird and analysis-defying 90 minutes at Ibrox. Celtic, down and out, enjoyed a host of chances, at least four of which were glaring. Stephen Welsh somehow missed

from four yards out in the opening half, Odsonne Édouard missed a penalty after 78 minutes, and Mohamed Elyounoussi and Édouard once more missed further, plum opportunities from close

range. So while Rangers triumphed and exhibited real intelligence with the ball, Celtic will rarely go to Ibrox again and enjoy such recurring openings in front of goal. McGregor, the

Rangers goalkeeper, was deservedly most people’s man of the match. Advertisement Celtic fans are left asking: how did their team’s decline come to this? How did a green-and-white hooped XI

on the field, so dominant and tyrannical for years in Scotland, become so weakened? The answer to these questions lies in one area: bad decision-making and poor overhauling of the squad.

That much was obvious again at Ibrox. In Jonjoe Kenny and Diego Laxalt, Celtic were noticeably weak. Where previously a Kieran Tierney would be unpassable and running riot, Celtic yesterday

had journeymen at full back, both of whose watchword was caution. Laxalt, given any opportunity to go forward, will pass backwards. Kenny, you often felt, needed a gun to his head to go

marauding upfield. Then there is the vexed and sometimes disconsolate figure of the undoubtedly talented Édouard. The French striker brushed away the pleas of Leigh Griffiths, on as a Celtic

substitute, who wanted to take that 78th-minute penalty and instead kept the job to himself, producing that characteristic, airy trot towards the ball to execute the shot. You just knew he

was going to miss. So many people watching — both Rangers and Celtic fans — fancied McGregor to make the save, and he duly did. Édouard didn’t give the ball either enough pace or angle, and

McGregor, helped by an early plunge to his right, comfortably beat the spot-kick away. Advertisement There was a point when Édouard, so voluptuously in form, looked certain to bag £20

million or £25 million for Celtic when he left. Few people put such a figure on his head now. The striker appears to want away from Scottish football, and will surely leave this summer. But

Celtic look likely to receive nothing like the fat cheque they once thought they might. With the goalkeeping situation needing resolved, Scott Brown leaving, two new full backs required and

at least two new strikers, Celtic are facing summer renovation in every direction they look. Dominic McKay, the club’s new CEO who is stepping into the breach early, and looked on from the

Ibrox stands yesterday, has a job and a half on his hands. And this is to say nothing of the hunt for a new manager. Suddenly, all is quiet on the Eddie Howe front. Rangers are growing used

to wins like these. Celtic, their years of plunder and success over, are in deep trauma. The fallen Scottish champions have collapsed under the weight of poor decisions made at various

levels within the club, while Rangers have grown and thrived under Gerrard. Celtic haven’t recovered from losing as great a manager as Brendan Rodgers and as great a player as Tierney. In

such moments the seeds of their decline were sown. The club, under a new chief executive who might be looking on with anxiety, has some frantic catching-up to do.