Rangers slip up cheers Burn

WHATEVER else may be said of results in the Scottish Premier Division this week, they at least reaffirmed that even the most predictable league in the world contains a few banana skins.

Rangers' little skid at Kilmarnock on Wednesday may not have landed them on their backs, but it did cause them to falter long enough for Celtic to make up ground.

It was, as the Parkhead manager Tommy Burns said, an unexpected change in the outlook in the space of 24 hours. "Late in our game with Raith on Tuesday, we were low down and looking at the possibility of falling a further three points behind.

"Then we get the two goals for victory and Rangers draw 1-1 at Kilmarnock, where everybody thought they would win, and the gap is closed by two points instead of possibly being lengthened by six. It's why nobody here would ever give up on the title until it was mathematically impossible to win."

Burns will be hoping that the generally expected comes to pass today, as Celtic appear to have a less demanding assignment than the leaders. The Parkhead side are at home to a depleted Hibernians, while Rangers travel to confront a Motherwell team encouraged by recent results.

Celtic will continue without players such as di Canio, Stubbs and O'Neill, as well as one or two fringe members, but they have secured victories without them already. Hibs, on the other hand, should be seriously weakened by the loss of Hughes, Dennis, Shannon, Wright and Colin Jackson as well as the probable absence of Darren Jackson.

Hughes and Dennis would be the recently appointed manager Jim Duffy's first choice central defence, while Darren Jackson has been their most important player as well as leading scorer this season.

Rangers' problems in attack, their most obvious failing at Rugby Park on Wednesday, are diminished by the inclusion of Sebastian Rozental and Gordon Durie. Rozental, signed from Universidad Catolica of Chile for £4 million, will have a place on the bench and will probably only play if things are bad. Durie returns from a three month lay off with injury, having come through a reserve match with Aberdeen on Tuesday night. But Erik Bo Andersen, Rangers' most prolific striker in recent weeks, will probably still be missing because of injury.