Petrov exclusive: Why Rangers have ‘lacked success’ while Celtic continue conveyor belt of ‘leaders’
Former Aston Villa and Celtic captain Stiliyan Petrov is expecting a “cracking game” between his two old teams in the Champions League.
Speaking exclusively to Football365 before his appearance at StriveAid on Sunday (you can donate here), Petrov discussed Villa v Celtic, the Hoops’ chances of progressing in the Champions League, and their dominance over Rangers.
“With the new format, I believe that the teams that had less chance before have a bigger chance now,” Petrov told F365. “There are more games, there are more points to be won. For some teams, the draw is more generous and it seems Celtic have put themselves in a really strong position.
“Going to Atalanta, not playing very well but putting in an amazing defensive performance that gives confidence to the team to go and put in a great performance against Leipzig. One not very good performance and gaining something has given confidence to go and perform really well.
“I am looking forward to that game (Villa v Celtic on January 29) because there are two great managers, two attacking teams and I think it will be a cracking game because there is a lot of space to be exploited, a lot of speed, a lot of good technical players. I’m looking forward to that game.
“The way things are going, both teams will need points. Let’s take a point each and then both going through.
“Villa, at the moment, they really have a chance to make that top eight. They’ve got a few games left that they have got a chance to win and at the end they will look at where they are and I know it’s going to go down to the last game because there are some big teams that haven’t picked up all their points yet.”
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Petrov is part of a strong line of captains at Celtic Park, all of which were imposing central midfielders.
From the Bulgarian to current skipper Callum McGregor via Neil Lennon and Scott Brown, having that sort of player is vital and is something Celtic have had over Rangers in recent years.
“It’s the core of the team,” the Bulgarian said. “You need an example for others, to lead in the right way, to be a communicator, good leader, to know about the club, to be at the club for a long time.
“Celtic have always had somebody like that. They have really taken over one after another in a great fashion. Callum McGregor took over after a very successful time for Scott Brown and he has done an even better job to lead the team, to make sure they succeed, are still winning titles, still performing well and these are players that guide others, especially the new players.
“It is really important to have somebody like that.”
Ryan Jack might have been that guy for Rangers but he picked up injury after injury during his time at Ibrox.
“Since Barry Ferguson, there hasn’t really been that consistent success and if you look at the last 13 or 12 years, Celtic have been successful.
“If you are looking for a captain at Rangers, you need somebody who has success, somebody who can show everyone how it needs to be done; they have really lacked to have a leader like that.
“He (Jack) has the ability to lead, the style of play he plays, he’s one of them players that is always on the front foot, always wants to win. When you have a leader and a person like that, you can always count on them. But if he doesn’t stay fit for a long time, then it is a big problem.”
Petrov often shares the Sky Sports studio with Kris Boyd and joked that the former Rangers striker is “very biased” and sees football through Union Jack lenses.
On working as a pundit with ex-Rangers players, Petrov said: “It’s okay, it’s different. It’s still competitive.
“I believe that when you are on TV you can’t be biased, you have to say what you think. If you are referring to Boydy, he is very biased, you can see that but it works for him.
“He is a really good pundit, he says things that is (biased) sometimes but he just tries to be more Rangers than anybody else, which is normal.
“I get on very well with him, I don’t mind if someone has a different approach but we all talk about the good and the bad things of football, what can be done better. Obviously, for me it has been a lot easier because Celtic has done so well in the last couple of years, especially this season again, they are really striving to have a successful season, especially in Europe.”
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