The Rangers role reversal Derek McInnes must avoid as throwback to Celtic's Halloween horror offers nightmare reminder

Rangers risk falling behind Celtic if they slip up against Hearts this week, mirroring their own title collapse last season when successive defeats derailed their challenge.

Derek McInnes' Rangers face a critical midweek trip to Tynecastle against Hearts, with the stakes high in the Scottish Premiership title race. Rangers currently trail Celtic by four points, and a slip-up could prove costly given Celtic's fixture advantage this weekend.

The article draws parallels to Rangers' own near-miss last season, when they were contenders heading into the split but lost to Motherwell and Hearts successively, allowing Celtic to pull clear. It contrasts that collapse with Rangers' dominant 2020/21 campaign under Steven Gerrard, when they went unbeaten to claim their first title in a decade with 102 points, finishing 25 clear of Celtic.

That season, Rangers seized control around Halloween when a win at Kilmarnock opened a nine-point gap. They then embarked on a devastating run, thrashing Hamilton 8-0 and winning 4-0 against Aberdeen and Ross County, while Celtic faltered with draws and an Old Firm defeat. The lesson for McInnes: Rangers cannot afford to drop points while Celtic maintain their own momentum, or they risk being left behind.