Rangers Struggle as Rivals Gain Momentum
Derek McInnes is still waiting.
Waiting for a first win.
Waiting for Rangers to look anything like a side ready to erase the scars of last season.
Instead, Ibrox watched a familiar story unfold as Hibernian walked away with the points and the new manager walked into the same old questions.
New man, same Rangers problems
McInnes tried to put his stamp on things. Another reshuffled back four, another attempt to tighten the leaks that sank Rangers last term. It didn’t work.
The defensive line never settled. The shape wobbled under pressure, and when Vanja Dragojevic hauled Josh Kerr to the turf for a penalty, it felt less like a one-off mistake and more like a continuation of a theme. The errors are not isolated; they are ingrained.
Rangers fans have seen this film before – loose defending, lapses in concentration, a team that can’t string together consistent performances. The frustration is no longer about one result. It’s about repetition.
Then came the moment that deepened the gloom. Youssef Chermiti, retained after the club turned down a lucrative offer from Galatasaray, departed on a stretcher. A player viewed as a key asset, both on the pitch and in the market, suddenly reduced to a worrying question mark.
On the opposite bench, David Gray admitted Hibs “rode their luck” at times, but his players did what Rangers could not: they dug in. Fresh from an impressive Conference League qualifying win in midweek, they backed it up with a result at Ibrox that further eases the pressure on their head coach and underlines their growing resilience.
McInnes insists Rangers “aren’t as bad as people think.” The table, the performances and the mood in the stands will soon demand stronger evidence.
Hogh answers the noise
If Rangers are searching for a spark, Celtic may just have found one in Kasper Hogh.
An £11m transfer fee can weigh heavy on a striker’s shoulders in Glasgow. His debut against Dundee did nothing to ease that burden as chance after chance went begging and the murmurs began.
At Rugby Park, those doubts were ripped up in 35 ruthless minutes.
On Kilmarnock’s new grass pitch, Hogh moved with the air of a forward who had finally tuned into the rhythm of his new team. His three goals were not spectacular in isolation, but collectively they told the story of a striker who knows where to be and when to arrive. Intelligent movement, sharp anticipation, calm finishes. The Dane read the game, slipped into pockets of space and punished a defence that simply could not cope.
Kilmarnock’s back line was a gift that kept on giving. Benjamin Nygren and Luke McCowan helped themselves as well, as Celtic sliced through a woefully exposed unit to climb top of the table on goal difference.
Neil McCann wants his side to be bold and open. Right now, they are just open. Two Premiership games, nine goals conceded, and all the old relegation fears flickering back to life. Attack-minded football is admirable; survival demands a defence that can at least slow opponents down.
Celtic, by contrast, left Ayrshire looking like a team that has rediscovered its bite in front of goal – and a striker ready to live with the price tag.
Vrancken finds a foothold at Tynecastle
Wouter Vrancken walked into this weekend knowing the narrative was turning against him. Hearts had looked nothing like the side that chased the title so ferociously last season. Europe had brought bruising defeats. Aberdeen had exposed their soft underbelly in a collapse that rattled confidence.
Then came Dundee United at Tynecastle – and a different Hearts emerged.
This was the response Vrancken needed to see. A team missing six players through injury and suspension suddenly looked cohesive, ruthless and composed. In front of goal, everything clicked. At the back, they stood firm.
The scoreline flattered them in one sense. Dundee United saw plenty of the ball, created chances and moved with purpose. What they lacked was the decisive touch that turns pressure into points. Hearts had that edge; United did not.
For Vrancken, the significance lay less in the margin of victory and more in the manner of it. Under scrutiny, his players delivered a performance that suggested last season was not an outlier, but a standard they can still chase.
The questions around his appointment won’t vanish overnight. But this felt like the first proper answer.
Phillips shines as St Mirren rise – but for how long?
Look at the top of the Premiership table and St Mirren are right where their fans dream of seeing them, even if only in August. Maximum points. Back-to-back clean sheets. A calm authority about their work.
Killian Phillips sits at the heart of that early surge.
After his opening-day double, he decided the battle of the Saints in Paisley from the penalty spot. One precise strike, one more reminder of his growing influence in Craig McLeish’s side.
That influence has not gone unnoticed. Interest is circling as he moves into the final year of his contract, and McLeish has been open about helping him secure the best move possible when the time comes. The clock is ticking towards the end of August. St Mirren’s form suggests they are building something; the market may yet decide how long Phillips remains part of it.
St Johnstone, newly promoted and buoyed by a winning return to the top flight, played with a confidence that belied their status. What they lacked was a finish. No shots on target in the first half, a missed penalty, the woodwork rattled – all the ingredients of a story that ends in regret. They started solidly. Their wastefulness turned that platform into nothing.
St Mirren, by contrast, made their big moment count. That is why they share top spot with Celtic.
Dundee on the rise as Aberdeen stall
Seven days can reshape a mood. Aberdeen’s stirring fightback to beat Hearts had hinted at character and resolve. At Dens Park, both went missing.
Dundee were sharper, hungrier and more clinical. Steven Pressley watched his side take control and never really let it go. The 2-0 scoreline felt generous to Aberdeen.
Joe Bevan drove the performance. A goal, an assist, and the kind of relentless energy that unsettles any back line. After a narrow defeat at Celtic Park in their opener, Dundee’s first points of the season came with a performance that suggested they are not content to simply make up the numbers.
Aberdeen, though, regressed. Where they had dug deep against Hearts, they drifted here. The travelling support voiced their anger with loud boos, a blunt verdict on a team that failed to respond when the game demanded more.
The two sides will do it all again on Saturday in the League Cup. Pressley will demand a repeat. Stephen Robinson, facing a restless fanbase and a disjointed display, needs something far better.
Motherwell steady under Johansson
Motherwell were supposed to wobble after Jens Berthel Askou’s departure. So far, Alfred Johansson has refused to let that happen.
Unbeaten in Europe and at home, the Swedish manager has slipped into the role with minimal fuss and maximum efficiency. A clean sheet against Falkirk adds another layer of belief to a squad targeting yet another top-four finish.
Motherwell started brighter at Fir Park, moving the ball with assurance and pinning Falkirk back. The Bairns eventually grew into the contest, found their rhythm and earned a point that will feel valuable in context.
John McGlynn has lost important players and is reshaping his side on the fly. That display, organised and defiant, offers something to cling to as they head into their first break of the season.
Across the division, storylines are already hardening. Rangers stuck in their loop. Celtic’s new striker catching fire. Hearts, St Mirren, Dundee and Motherwell all showing signs of upward movement.
The table will change. The questions won’t. Who fixes their flaws fastest may decide how this season truly unfolds.
