Gord may not be every fan's cup of tea .. but he's better than O'Neill

May 25 2008 Andy Walker

THE ability of the players at your disposal ultimately separates the winners from the losers in a league campaign.

And the harsh reality for every Rangers fan is that Celtic won the most dramatic of SPL championships because they have more quality in their squad.

Winning ugly and being difficult to beat was enough to get Rangers so far but the prizes they really wanted slipped away in the last few weeks of the season.

While Walter Smith men's were toiling, Celtic timed their push perfectly to seal three-in-a-row for the first time since the Jock Stein era.

But does Gordon Strachan get the credit he deserves for this feat?

In football timing can often be everything. Gers gaffer Smith was named Manager of the Year a few weeks ago but if that vote was taken today would he be judged more successful than Strachan?

The Celtic boss has never lost the title since taking charge and has also led the club into the Champions League last 16 in successive seasons.

He did all this while trimming the wage bill and no one can deny it's a magnificent achievement. In my book that makes him a better manager than predecessor Martin O'Neill.

Many Celtic fans will disagree with that assessment and Strachan's relationship with thousands of punters is undeniably strained.

Had O'Neill been enjoying the same lap of honour at Tannadice last week his name would have reverberated round the stadium as much as the late Tommy Burns'.

In contrast the praise for his replacement was guarded and unenthusiastic.

The Celtic supporters I spoke to during the season kept referring to the difficult period around Christmas when the football their heroes were playing was awful to watch.

To make matters worse Rangers were on a good run and rarely dropping points.

There's nothing like a bit of success on the other side of the city to draw attention to your own shortcomings.

But Celtic came through it until apparently throwing the league away with successive defeats to Rangers and Motherwell. At that point the title was gone in the eyes of every fan and most of them wanted the manager to go.

Don't be surprised to hear the same discontent among the Celtic support at the first sign of a blip next season.

Would Strachan have enjoyed the last laugh this term if Rangers' fixture schedule hadn't been so hectic?

Probably not. But Gers were still in the box seat when they headed into a crucial Old Firm double-header.

And they lost the momentum when Strachan's side claimed six points.

Had Rangers avoided defeat in either game that would've been enough for them to go on and clinch the championship.

Instead, two wins in 11 days gave Celtic the belief that Rangers would blow it - and they did.

It also proved to the doubting Hoops fans that Strachan could get the better of Smith after four failed attempts. And any player will tell you an Old Firmsuccess can work wonders for morale.

The winner from the much-maligned Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink deep into injury time during the first derby at Parkhead was a massive turning point.

To get that one then follow it up with the title-winning goal at Tannadice suggests the criticism has been too harsh.

The header against Dundee United was the Dutchman's 20th goal of the season and he has formed a prolific double-act with Scott McDonald who bagged a tally of 31.

At the other end of the pitch Gary Caldwell has been an easy target for the boo-boys. But without his contribution in the last three months Celts would have been dead and buried.

Caldwell raised his game at the most critical time of the campaign and was Strachan's most consistent player in the run-in.

Rangers had fewer successes when the season reached boiling point but they have still had a memorable campaign.

Smith led them to the CIS Cup and a stunning quadruple was still on the cards a few weeks ago after their march to the UEFA Cup Final.

They came up short in Manchester against Zenit St Petersburg and also slipped up in the league but under Smith's guidance Gers are unquestionably on the right road.

Walter's biggest problem has been raising the fans' expectations to a completely unrealistic level. Talk of an unlikely quadruple reached fever pitch and the stunning run to the UEFA Cup Final is filled with moments few Ibrox fans will ever forget.

But the European success didn't help in their pursuit of domestic glory.

Much has been made of their heavy schedule. That comes with being successful and I'm sure they'd love to have as many European ties next season and still be challenging for the title.

Coping at the business end of the season is hard and Rangers blew it.

They dropped 15 points from April onwards while Celtic only let three slip away.

That was a key difference between the sides as was another telling statistic.

Rangers were only able to win once away from home against a side that finished in the top six. That's not good enough.

To secure a championship you need to be able to win big matches on your travels.

But apart from one successful journey to Easter Road in December, Rangers couldn't beat Celtic, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Hibs or Dundee United on their own pitch.

One win in 10 massive away games is hardly the mark of champions.

Domestic success will never be measured in cup competitions.

The SPL title and access to the Champions League grow more critical every year.

Celtic have the upper hand for next season already because they have guaranteed income from direct entry to the Champions League.

Rangers need to negotiate a qualifying round and simply have to be involved at that level.

If they don't make it, the £9million sale of Alan Hutton to Spurs won't seem like such a good piece of business after all.