Michael Beale sees Rangers pants pulled down amid dawning Celtic realisation and careless talk – Keith Jackson

Celtic might have flashed a bit of leg at Rangers on Saturday.

But when the Ibrox men duly had their pants pulled down at Pittodrie yesterday it served as a timely reminder of why Michael Beale will turn up at Hampden on Sunday hoping to get lucky while bracing himself for more pride swallowing rejection. Because, despite the stark and impressive upturn in results since the Englishman took over from Gio van Bronckhorst, the neighbours from across town remain out of his league.

Even when Ange Postecoglou’s team mis-stepped at home to Motherwell, Rangers responded in feeble fashion by allowing the gap between the pair to increase to 13 points before the weekend was over. The 2-0 defeat at Aberdeen means Celtic are just one win from sealing a second successive title under the Australian. But, more importantly where the Scottish Cup semi-final is concerned, it has robbed Beale of any kind of momentum just when he needed it most of all.

It wasn’t as if Beale and his players were actually beginning to believe they were back in with a realistic crack at the title. There’s a fine line between optimism and delusion after all.

But Celtic’s uncharacteristic slip was just enough to keep them interested all the same and maybe even tease the hopeless romantic inside them into wondering, what if? What if the champions might be running out of steam and entering an entirely unexpected wobble now that this seemingly unstoppable march towards a domestic clean sweep is just about to reach the tickly bit?

What if the injuries which sidelined key men such as Reo Hatate and Jota might keep one or both of them on the sidelines at Hampden again on Sunday when the fate of this season’s Scottish Cup is almost certainly going to be