Celtic And Rangers Bosses Feel The Pressure
One side of Glasgow wants to “sack the board,” while the other pushes to sack the manager. Mark Wilson and the hierarchy at Partick Thistle shouldn’t rest on their laurels. In all seriousness, Wilson, the former Celt and current manager at Championship side Partick Thistle, and his bosses have little to fear, with a 3-1-1 record in the league campaign so far this term. As of this writing, they’re looking for an upset as Celtic visit Fir Hill in the League Cup quarterfinals on Sunday.
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Wilson’s side, which sits fourth the Championship table, may be getting Celtic at a good time. The Hoops are still reeling from a disappointing summer transfer window, the results (or lack thereof) of which have supporters in open revolt and seeking change in the boardroom.
“There are some issues there,” as former Rangers skipper and caretaker manager Barry Ferguson said on his radio show this week.
Of course, Ferguson only made that comment after Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers defended his counterpart at Ibrox, Russell Martin, against criticism from… wait for it… Ferguson, an outstanding player for Rangers and Scotland who nonetheless has garnered a less-than-stellar record as a manager. His most recent foray as a bench boss? A 15-match role as caretaker at Ibrox to end last season, one that yielded a 6-5-4 record.
Celtic And Rangers In Must Win Mode
What irked Rodgers is that Ferguson still saw fit to question the tactics of his successor, Martin, who, to be fair, has yet to secure a win in the Premiership in the 2025-26 campaign. Hence the cries of “Martin out” in Govan.
Though what Ferguson is supposed to talk about on his radio show, if not ’Gers and football, remains an open question.
Every week feels pivotal in Scottish football, but both Celtic and Rangers are in must-win mode. Failure to find the “rhythm” Rodgers craves in the near term will only make the anti-board animus at Parkhead more intense, while Martin needs to string together a series of impressive wins just to keep his post.
It’s hard to imagine either of Glasgow’s big two essentially starting over midseason, but both need to quiet the maddening crowds—and soon.
Wilson must be relishing the relative calm at Fir Hill.