The gulf between the Old Firm sides and ‘the rest’ is inexplicably large.
Last week that gap was extended further when Rangers squeezed past PSV to confirm their place in one of the biggest and most prestigious competitions in the world, the Champions League.
With that, it means both the Glasgow sides from the cinch Premiership will be part of the competition – pocketing themselves a reported £40million prize money for doing so.
The mind-blowing money, which most Scottish clubs would kill for a fraction of, will indeed widen the gulf between clubs – despite giving the Scottish game a positive image to not only the rest of the UK, but to the rest of Europe too.
But for clubs like Ross County, it only means more difficult tasks and more mundane outings to the biggest city in Scotland to take on green or blue.
With all honesty, I didn’t watch or listen to Saturday’s fixture against Rangers live and decided to spend my Saturday taking in Highland League action.
The first County fixture I haven’t attended in person this campaign being Rangers is no coincidence, however. The feeling of such a long, money-expending journey between travel and ticket prices, has honestly never looked so unattractive.
Home or away, matchdays against the big two don’t feel the same. The matchday excitement persists whilst the matchday experience diminishes. Be it due to away fans raiding our home end, or due to being part of a smaller than usual away crowd – feeling like a minnow compared to the tens of thousands of home supporters.
The knowledge and harsh reality of an incoming defeat occurring takes away from the hope going into the fixture. Hope is what sometimes crushes our dreams – but going into games without it seems to defeat the purpose of being a supporter.
Against most sides, it’s 50/50, a toss-up, where anyone could win. However, against Celtic and Rangers no matter how well you play – the sad and miserable reality is that the day will most likely end in defeat.
Of course, no matter who the Staggies play support will be wholeheartedly given – but it would be foolish to deny that it does require a different type of effortful feeling when it comes to playing the Old Firm – especially away from home.
