Alan Pattullo: If it's time to cut to the chase after Celtic evisceration ... Rangers look very, very ordinary

Celtic’s midweek evisceration of Rangers has been described as igniting the title race.

The Ibrox side had better hope it is not a sprint to the finishing line because if Wednesday night is anything to go by, they will be left behind in a cloud of not just pyrotechnic smoke.

Celtic kicked dust in their rivals’ face while displaying dynamism that could be set to carry them to the Scottish title. They certainly have the momentum now.

The first midweek Old Firm derby since 2011 had everything except away supporters, which once again seemed a matter to lament. That impasse isn’t likely to be solved anytime soon. Having watched on television as their team seemed to be caught out by the intensity of their ‘welcome’ from the stands on Wednesday, the Rangers fans will be keen to ensure Ibrox is as hostile as possible when Celtic are the visitors in the spring. They just won’t be able to tap into the added energy that seems to come from playing under floodlights.

The scheduling – or at least re-scheduling – of what was originally meant to be a New Year fixture, kicking off at noon, played into Celtic’s hands in this Japanese-inspired remake of Fright Night. In saying that, Rangers are just as capable of conceding three first-half goals in the afternoon as well. Giovanni van Bronckhorst knows that as well as anyone. He was sitting in the stand awaiting his unveiling as Martin Boyle put the Ibrox side to the sword in Hibs’ Premier Sports semi-final victory at Hampden Park in November.

This is not a Rangers side whose flaws have been suddenly exposed in a prime-time TV slot for all to see; they’ve been evident for weeks, even months. Confront the Ibrox side with pace, as Hibs were able to do when they could call upon Boyle, and