The Ibrox board is waiting for Celtic before they make a decision on their own manager.

One of the more remarkable things about Scottish football right now is the way the Ibrox club seems unable to make up its mind about its manager—until he’s been beaten by Celtic. This is a hopeless, dreadful, floundering boss who’s just about clinging to the last rung of the ladder. And yet they can’t make a decision until we go there and play them.

I knew he would survive after the Spurs game. I knew they weren’t going to sack him after he got a good result there. For the axe to fall, we’d have to inflict a serious humiliation on him and his team at Hampden.

Other than that, I figured he’d just brass-neck it out.

But the fact there was even a question of whether he’d survive after the cup final shows just how much everything over there revolves around us, right down to the timing of their biggest decisions.

Put yourself in the shoes of the Ibrox board for a moment. Ask yourself this: would you need to see how the manager gets on against Celtic, in front of his own home support, before deciding on his future?

If you were the one calling the shots, what evidence would you look for beyond that match to determine whether to keep him or not?

Is there any sign at all that this guy can put together a long winning run? The answer has to be no. Is there any sign that he’s improved a single footballer under his coaching or motivational methods? Again, no. Can he be trusted with the club’s resources? Consider his deals: the £6 million impending fee for Cortes, the £4 million spent on Diomande, and the £2.5 million for Bajrami, none of whom have delivered.

Once more, the answer is surely no.

This manager has done enough to justify his sacking two or three times over. That’s my take. He’s already demonstrated that he’s not going to turn things around. He’s shown a capacity for failure and, worse, an acceptance of it. Just look at his comments in the media yesterday—they were extraordinary. He said he’s not focusing on the points gap and isn’t interested in it at all, only in his team’s performances.

He still believes they were excellent in the second half at Paisley. He doesn’t seem to grasp that they played well for about 20 minutes before falling back into the same patterns as the first 45. He seems oblivious to the fact that St Mirren created the better chances at the end, scored the second goal, and deservedly won the game. If he can’t see the obvious, how is he meant to tackle the complicated issues?

He is hopelessly out of his depth. Yet when you listen to the pro-Ibrox commentariat or read the fans’ views, you realise he isn’t even the biggest problem at that club. Their biggest problem is the permanent shadow of Celtic looming over them, influencing every decision they make. This is a perfect example of that.

Any club with genuine championship aspirations, any club with a board that wasn’t constantly looking over the fence, would have made this decision before now. It should have been independent of results against Celtic and focused solely on the gap at the top of the table. If they really are waiting to see what happens in one game at their home ground before deciding, then the banter years are far from over.

Because that’s a club waiting for Celtic’s permission to make a decision that will define its future. If this manager’s survival hinges on a single game against us, they are too obsessed with Celtic to ever be more than they are now.