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Rangers’ winning run deserves credit, but Hutton’s treble prediction ignores the challenge still posed by Celtic.
Alan Hutton has Rangers dreaming of a domestic treble. After a strong run of results, the former Ibrox defender says there is a “real sense” that his old club can win all three trophies.
It is a confident claim. It is also a massive jump from winning a run of games to assuming the season will end with three pieces of silverware.
Rangers have won seven matches in a row and knocked Celtic out of the Premier Sports Cup. That is a genuine improvement, and Hutton is entitled to point to it. But a good spell in October does not settle the title race, win the Scottish Cup or make Celtic disappear.
Rangers’ last domestic treble came in 2002–03. More than two decades later, Hutton is talking about another one as if the ingredients are already falling into place.
They are not. Rangers have a place in the League Cup semi-final, but that is only one step towards a trophy. The league remains a long campaign, and the Scottish Cup is a knockout competition where one bad afternoon can end the whole challenge.
A lighter schedule without European football could help Rangers prepare for domestic matches. It does not guarantee them a single point, never mind three trophies. Hutton’s argument treats Celtic’s busy calendar like a gift-wrapped opportunity, when it is simply one factor in a season full of pressure, injuries and difficult games.
Does Hutton really believe Celtic are going to roll over and let Rangers take the league and Scottish Cup? Celtic have spent years setting the standard in Scotland. They will not surrender their ambitions because Rangers have found form or because the fixture list is demanding.
The recent derby wins give Rangers confidence. They also give Celtic plenty to prove. A rivalry does not pause because one side has momentum, and a title challenge is not won through pundit predictions.
Hutton’s old club should absolutely aim to win every competition available. That is what supporters expect. But there is a difference between setting a target and talking as though the destination is already in sight.
Rangers have momentum. They have not won the treble. Before Hutton starts talking up a historic campaign, his former team still has to turn its promising run into a trophy—and keep Celtic from doing what Celtic have done so often: fight back and win.
For now, the treble talk is premature. Rangers need to prove they can win something before anyone treats three trophies as a serious expectation.