Brendan Rodgers has restored Celtic calm after eye popping panic and relit fire under Rangers concerns - Keith Jackson

It was a generous gift to give at this festive time of year.

But, like all good presents, Saturday’s barnstormer of an Old Firm derby does require some fairly serious unpacking. First and foremost, Celtic’s 2-1 win should at least allow a bit of perspective to prevail at one end of Glasgow and, by opening up an eight point lead at the top of the table, it will most certainly provide Brendan Rodgers with some badly needed breathing space at a critical moment in his first season back in charge.

It was only a couple of weeks ago, after all, that the most entitled element at the core of this club was threatening to turn full scale against the manager, while posturing mutinously towards the directors box at the same time. Sack the board. Sack the boss. In the furious aftermath of that home defeat to Hearts on December 16 they would have chased Hoopy the Huddle Hound down London Road so utterly consumed had they become with a sense of eye popping panic at the very thought of failing to win a 13th title in 14 years.

So Saturday’s blood and thunder victory over the nearest and dearest will at least have added a bit of calm to the situation and maybe even provided a moment to pause and reflect on the ridiculous nature of this overreaction. Over the course of more than 100 minutes of almighty derby day mayhem, Rodgers seized back control of this season’s title race and, as a result, Rangers have been left to lick their wounds and reassess where they might be heading under the management of Philippe Clement.

The Belgian has settled very impressively into the position since taking over from Michael Beale but the bottom line is that he and his players came up short when it mattered most of all at the weekend and this latest painful