THE essential difference between Rangers and Celtic the one which makes the former champions and the latter perennial runners up, became as obvious as a scar at the weekend. It is that the Ibrox side have more protective layers of skin than their old rivals.
When Celtic lose a few first team regulars - they have been without midfielders Paul McStay and Phil O'Donnell all season and, at Motherwell, Stubbs, Di Canio and van Hooijdonk were also missing - they have no resistant undercoat.
Rangers, as they have consistently demonstrated throughout their run of eight successive championships, cope much more ably in similar circumstances. Their deputies - even those who are not formidable as individuals - stand firm and keep challengers at bay.
Only the flying towel was missing as Celtic capitulated at Fir Park to a Motherwell side who lost their goalkeeper, Scott Howie, with a depressed fracture of the cheekbone after an accidental collision with Andreas Thom in the 63rd minute. The home side held out for another 19 minutes before conceding an equaliser to Chris Hay, but still had the character to summon a winner in stoppage time from their substitute, Ian Ross.
The entire exercise was a damning example of the Parkhead side's lack of resilience. With eight points dropped in their last three matches, Celtic now trail Rangers by that amount, with little evidence to suggest the deficit can be overcome.
Tommy Burns's team are not even as good as they were last season much less scintillating, even at their best - but had raised false expectations among their fans in recent months by improving their points and goals totals from the corresponding stage last year.
Without strengthening, in midfield especially, they were always likely to be found out and that is now happening. Rangers, on the other hand, tend to give the impression they are neither better nor worse than before. Behind twice in the home match with Hibs - the only team to have beaten them in domestic competition - they not only came back to win 4-3, but helped Ally McCoist to establish yet another record.
The veteran striker's double - after Keith Wright and Darren Jackson had scored for Hibs and Ian Ferguson had first brought Rangers level - equalled and then surpassed Gordon Wallace's postwar Scottish record of 264 league goals. It was only a matter of time before McCoist would become thee new name in the books, but it was typical of him to achieve it on a day when it was most needed.
Brian Laudrup scored Rangers' fourth before Pat McGinaly's late counter for the visitors. It was precisely the kind of performance and result which Celtic have yet to master.
