Rangers: It’s the Old Firm but not as we know it

Take a cursory glance at the Scottish Premier League table and it might seem as if, after a period of four years, normal service has finally been resumed, with Rangers trailing leaders Celtic as they go into today’s high noon Hogmanay derby at Ibrox.

It doesn’t take too much forensic examination, however, to discern that the points difference between the top two is 16, a yawning chasm which leads Charlie Nicholas to one unavoidable conclusion.

“We’re a long way from the Old Firm,” says the former Celtic and Arsenal striker who is now a pundit on Sky Sports.