Chris Sutton has faced criticism after an old prediction about Celtic’s title run-in resurfaced.
The former Hoops striker had previously cast doubt over Celtic’s ability to sustain a winning run during the closing weeks of the campaign, forecasting that Martin O’Neill’s side would struggle badly in their final five league fixtures.
Instead, Celtic have responded with three consecutive victories in the split, leaving Sutton’s earlier assessment looking increasingly off the mark.
During an appearance on the BBC’s Monday Night Club, fellow pundit Nedum Onuoha highlighted Sutton’s previous comments while discussing the dramatic swings in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Onuoha said: “Do you know what? I’ve not been on many Monday Night Clubs, but I do remember Chris saying that there’s no way that Celtic can win it.
“I remember that in the past. I genuinely don’t know what’s happened since then… I can’t really talk about Scottish football, because Chris is the expert…”
Sutton defended his original view by pointing to the unpredictable nature of the campaign and the Ibrox club’s collapse after the split.
He said: “Do you know what it was? You look at the split, right? It’s been wild this season. Rangers were the team who, everybody thought they had the momentum, and then they go and lose the first three games after the split.
“They lose against Motherwell at home. Motherwell have been incredibly well-coached. They go 1-0 up at Hearts and find a way of losing, and they go one-up at Celtic and find a way to lose.
“And now, unbelievably, people are talking… a couple of weeks ago, the Rangers fans were singing Danny Rohl’s name, and now they want him out, a lot of the Rangers fans. It’s three games! It’s wild!”
Host Mark Chapman then read back Sutton’s comments from April, where the pundit had questioned whether Celtic could maintain enough consistency to stay in the race.
Sutton had said at the time: “The performances haven’t been there for Celtic.
“I don’t think there can be a switch flicked. I think it’s impossible for Celtic to win all five post-split games, it’s a two-horse race between Hearts and Rangers.”
Laughing off the moment after hearing his remarks repeated on air, Sutton replied: “There’s never anything positive, when you start doing stuff like this… Should I just go?”
Despite Celtic’s recent upturn in results, Sutton insisted there are still concerns over the team’s overall displays, even with the possibility of O’Neill delivering a domestic double.
He said: “I think most of the fans will think [Celtic have got away with one]. There are probably a lot of fans who are still deeply unhappy, yet Martin O’Neill could win a double. And many are people are talking about: ‘This could be Martin O’Neill’s finest achievement’.
“You just used the word resilient. That’s what Celtic have been. And they’ve stayed in games.”
Sutton also referenced narrow wins against Falkirk and Hibernian as evidence that performances have not always matched the results.
He added: “Even after the split, they beat Falkirk 3-1 but late on at 2-1, that was quite close, and you could feel it was edgy. Hibs even went down to ten men, and Celtic aren’t convincing.”
The pundit also praised the atmosphere generated during Celtic’s recent victory over Danny Rohl’s side, singling out Daizen Maeda’s decisive strike as a defining moment.
He said: “It just felt different, what happened against Rangers. And now that Celtic have sorted out issues with a particular part of the fanbase, there was a raucous atmosphere within the stadium.
“Because of the nature of that game, coming from behind against Rangers, and then Daizen Maeda’s goal, which… I mean… was incredible, I mean, one of the best goals I’ve seen at Celtic Park.”
Sutton then joked: “Maybe second to the chip which I scored against Rangers in the green and whitewash season(!) It was pretty good.”
However, he warned that Celtic still have work to do to prove they can maintain consistency through the closing stages of the season.
He added: “But having said all this, it wouldn’t surprise me if Motherwell beat Celtic, because Celtic haven’t shown consistency in levels of performance.”
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