Waching daily Oct 1 2018

There was a time not so long ago when a visit from an unpopular relative would have held greater appeal than a visit from Rangers

It was never anything personal. Just a nod to the fact that fans of most clubs across the country knew the game was unlikely to end in anything other than defeat

Listening to your mother-in-law ramble on over Sunday lunch wouldn't have given you have as much of a headache as trying to stop some of the great Rangers teams of the past

Fast-forward to the present day and the picture looks so different. Those great teams of yesteryear would not be conceding a 90th-minute equaliser at Aberdeen

They would not be conceding a 90th-minute equaliser at Motherwell. They wouldn't go and lose at Livingston

This travel sickness is chronic and it must be so frustrating for Rangers fans because the league title is as wide open as it has been for years

It's there to be won and Rangers keep tripping themselves up on the road. Steven Gerrard has done a fine job since he arrived, but he's not exempt from criticism

Under his command, Rangers have failed to win away from home in the league this season

They have 11 points from their first seven games - the same total as Pedro Caixinha had at this stage last season

That's not good enough. Not when the Rangers supporters have the scent of Celtic's blood in their nostrils for the first time in years

Gerrard has spoken on several occasions about his desire to make Rangers 'competitive'

But fans won't settle for that - and nor should they. Rangers should be more than *just* 'competitive'

They spent over £10million on transfer fees in the summer, they are paying good money in wages, and have backed Gerrard to the hilt

The former Liverpool and England skipper has set high standards for himself all his career

Privately, he will know that being 'competitive' simply isn't enough. Not with Celtic stuttering as much as they are at the moment, with a league title looking like it's there to be won by any team who really goes and grabs hold of it

Rangers have addressed their home form, which was a major issue last season. But, away from Ibrox, they need to get the finger out

You can't just blame the plastic pitch yesterday. Yeah, it's not ideal. But no self-respecting footballer will use that as an excuse for losing a game

That's just a cop-out. The plastic pitch could increase your chance of injury - I totally understand that and it is a concern

But it doesn't make you lose the game. If Rangers had played to their capabilities yesterday and won the match, the pitch wouldn't even have been mentioned

It only gets highlighted when a team gets beat. Rangers had scored 15 goals in their previous four games heading into yesterday's match

They were cutting teams open - and I include Villarreal in that. They were excellent on the counter-attack against the Spaniards

You could sense the frustration around the stadium yesterday as Rangers struggled to break Livvy down - but in no way does that excuse what happened with the assistant referee

Seriously, who goes to a football match and thinks it's acceptable to throw a missile at someone? What an absolute clown

The linesman is a human being who is just trying to go about his business and do his job

Imagine if you were in the office, working away as you normally do, and some Neanderthal walked in and threw something at you because they didn't like the cut of your jib? There are videos of yesterday's incident on social media

You can actually see the bloke throwing something clear as day. I hope the authorities go to town on him

Idiots like that have no place at a football match. Since Gerrard walked in the door at Rangers, he has tried to conduct himself with as much class and dignity as possible

Look at the way he makes a point of standing on the touchline after a game - rather than just heading straight down the tunnel - to shake the hand of each and every opposition player

He's a class act. The polar opposite of that lunatic in the stand. If I was stood next to him, I'd be saying: "What the hell are you doing?" He has brought embarrassment and disgrace to the football club

It'll be the last thing Gerrard wants to be speaking about before a big game against Rapid Vienna on Thursday night

Scott Sinclair let out a roar of 'anger' when he scored on Saturday - and that should be music to the ears of Celtic fans

That sounds like he's got a bit of fire back in the belly. The important thing now is to make sure it stays that way

He's been in and out of the team during the opening weeks of the season and has looked a shadow of the player of 18 months ago

Clumsy, taking too many touches, lacking in confidence, he hasn't looked like the player who was voted best in the country during a glittering debut campaign

I won the PFA Player of the Year award a few years before Sinclair did and, strangely, you don't actually feel like you're doing much different to the times when you weren't winning it

It's just a confidence thing. But, even so, some Celtic fans were really beginning to question Sinclair

His career history won't have helped - he's always tended to spend a couple of seasons at a club and then move on

One of Celtic's highest-paid players, some supporters might even have accepted him being moved on to get him off the wage bill

They'll have been thinking: 'Well, if he isn't getting a game, what's the point in him being here?" Young kids like Mikey Johnston, Lewis Morgan and Ryan Christie were getting in ahead of him

Sinclair might have become the Forgotten Man, but I think he could ignite Celtic's stuttering season

If he can get back firing on all cylinders, it would almost be like having a new signing

His direct, entertaining style and dribbling ability is exactly what Celtic need right now

He's mirrored Celtic as a whole over the past couple of years; brilliant in 2016-2017, still good without being spectacular last season, and now this time around something's just not quite right

Fans will hope Sinclair takes it back to the start. Neil Doncaster said the scheduling of the Betfred Cup semi-finals 'suits everyone'

Is he having a laugh? To play two games of that magnitude at the same stadium on the same day is ludicrous

Never mind the policing and travel issues, just think about the sheer volume of people

The best part of 100,000 rival fans - some of whom will be boozed-up - will be coming and going in the space of a couple of hours

What could possibly go wrong? Only in Scottish football can a cup semi-final - what should be a positive experience and a smashing day out for fans - be turned into such a palaver