Rangers 'mentally tougher' this season, says former Celtic striker Andy Walker
Monday 25 November 2019 10:56, UK
Former Celtic striker Andy Walker believes Rangers are "mentally stronger" this season and expects the Premiership title race to go down to the final weeks.
Rangers beat Hamilton 3-1 on Sunday to move level on points with their Old Firm rivals at the top of the table.
- Rangers move back level with Celtic
- Classy Celtic thump Livingston
- Old Firm derby live on Sky Sports in March
Both teams have dropped just five points from their 13 league games this season and Walker believes Rangers are capable of winning their first Premiership title since the 2010-11 campaign.
"[They are] mentally stronger, mentally tougher, the players [are] absolutely focused on the job at hand," he said.
"None more so than Alfredo Morelos. I know he was on the bench yesterday [against Hamilton] but this is a guy that scores regularly when he plays. He scores on the big occasion.
"You have a month coming up when Rangers and Celtic are going to be playing each other twice - once in the League Cup final and once in the league game just after Christmas.
"I think Rangers have shown that they are mentally tougher this time round. It's going to be neck and neck between these two sides, I think all the way to the last few weeks of the season."
Celtic remain top of the table on goal difference after beating Livingston 4-0 on Saturday and Walker believes his former club have enough experience in their squad to cope with a strong challenge from Rangers.
"I think Celtic realise that Rangers are pushing them all the way," he said. "When you look at the make-up of the Celtic team, they've got some special players.
"They've got a fantastic goalkeeper in [Fraser] Forster, who is doing a lot of good things.
"They have players that they can rely on every season; Scott Brown, James Forrest, Callum McGregor and up front I think they've got a special goalscorer in Odsonne Edouard.
"There's a lot of good things happening at Celtic just now and I think the thing to admire is that they've got so many games and are coping with it really well, scoring a lot of goals."
