Louis Moult has summed up how little fear other clubs have of the one which plays at Ibrox.

A couple of times on this site, I’ve written about what I call “the Dodgers analogy.” I first heard it in the movie Catch Me If You Can.

Frank Abagnale Sr. tells his son that the reason more teams don’t beat the Yankees is that they’re intimidated by the pinstripes. They get to the stadium, see the fans, and take one look at that famous uniform—and their confidence evaporates.

I’ve long argued that when teams snap out of that mentality, that’s when big shocks in sport occur. But there’s another scenario where this happens: when the famous uniform no longer commands respect, no longer conjures awe, when it ceases to inspire fear.

When that happens, the club behind it is in real trouble. The power of the jersey, the badge, and the fear they instil is a critical part of why some teams stay on top for so long.

Yesterday, Dundee United’s Louis Moult made headlines when he told his teammates—via the media—that the Ibrox crest is “just a badge,” the shirt just a shirt, and that its reputation holds no fear. I’ve been waiting for that moment for months, and the signs have been there for a while. We saw it in the confidence Kilmarnock displayed. We saw it in Aberdeen’s belief. Both clubs spoke about the Ibrox club before their matches as though they knew they would win. Not hoped, but knew.

Players and managers alike can smell fear and weakness in an opponent, and when they do, it raises their game. It must be devastating for the club on the receiving end, especially when they’ve spent so long thinking of themselves as special, important, and unbeatable. But that’s the reality for those at Ibrox right now. The aura has gone.

Kilmarnock and Aberdeen weren’t overconfident in the run-up to their games against them, but they also weren’t cowed. They weren’t scared. They were looking forward to the challenge—and on the day, both were the better teams. No matter what madness Philippe Clement cooked up in his brain afterwards both of those teams deserved to win.

Hearing Moult so clearly express what’s been bubbling under the surface is music to my ears. It doesn’t guarantee Dundee United will take anything from their match today, but it’s another step closer to the inevitable: not just the end of Clement’s reign, but the end of Ibrox as a force to be feared. Once clubs get it into their heads that this team is beatable, that the club is vulnerable, and that the manager is clinging on, anything can—and will—happen.

It’s like watching a top heavyweight boxer lose their aura of invincibility. The fear they instil by simply stepping into the ring, glaring across at their opponent, vanishes. Once that aura is gone, it never comes back. Other fighters start to believe they can pull off an upset—and after a while, it stops being an upset.

I hope Moult can carry that attitude into the match. I hope his team can carry it too and that they have a strong performance against in that game today. Whether they do or don’t, the writing is on the wall. Across the league, clubs are shedding their fear of them, and that’s a long-term problem for the Ibrox side—one they won’t solve easily.

Contrast that with what we’re seeing at Aberdeen.

Leighton Clarkson yesterday spoke with confidence about their form, dismissing the notion that a bad run could derail them. He exuded belief in his team’s ability to sustain their momentum. It’s a joy to see a club like Aberdeen playing with swagger, with self-assurance, and stepping onto the pitch believing they can beat anyone.

I’d love to see more clubs in the league with that mindset, but for now, it’s enough that so many have lost their fear of the club across the city. That suits us just fine.