Premiership Weekend Review: Rangers Struggles, Celtic's Surge, Hearts' Resilience
Rangers stall, Celtic roar and Hearts bite back: what the Premiership weekend really told us
New manager, same Rangers frailties
Derek McInnes is still talking about perspective. “We aren’t as bad as people think,” he insisted. The Ibrox crowd will take some convincing.
Rangers’ first home league game under their new manager brought more of the old problems: a soft centre, a back line that keeps changing, and a tendency to implode at the worst possible moments. McInnes shuffled his defence again for Hibernian’s visit, but the reshaped back four never looked settled.
The decisive moment summed it up. New signing Vanja Dragojevic, caught on the wrong side, hauled Josh Kerr to the turf. Penalty. Another self-inflicted wound in a stadium that has seen too many of them.
The errors keep coming, the consistency never does, and the mood is turning. Watching Youssef Chermiti stretchered off only deepened the gloom, especially after Rangers had already turned down a sizeable offer from Galatasaray for the forward. Risk, for now, has not brought reward.
Across the technical area, David Gray could admit Hibs “rode their luck” at times. They did. But they also dug in, defended their box and found enough moments to turn a backs-to-the-wall performance into a statement win, backing up their impressive midweek Conference League qualifying victory.
For Gray, the pressure loosens. For McInnes, it tightens another notch.
Hogh answers the noise at Celtic
Kasper Hogh arrived at Celtic with an £11m price tag and the sound of calculators clicking in the background. Big fee, big scrutiny.
His debut against Dundee fed the doubters. Chances came, chances went, and the narrative wrote itself: expensive, wasteful, maybe not the answer.
Then came Rugby Park. New grass pitch, same old Celtic ruthlessness.
In 35 ruthless minutes, Hogh ripped up the early verdict. Three goals, each one a different illustration of a striker who reads the game well and lives in the gaps defenders hate. His movement dragged Kilmarnock’s back line around, his finishing did the rest.
Kilmarnock’s defending was calamitous at times, but Hogh still had to exploit it. He did, repeatedly. Benjamin Nygren and Luke McCowan joined the party, punishing a home defence that crumbled as Celtic surged to the top of the table on goal difference.
For Neil McCann, the numbers are grim: two Premiership games, two defeats, nine goals conceded. His desire to play open, front-foot football is admirable, but the back door is wide open and opponents are strolling through. Unless that changes quickly, the season will tilt from ambition to anxiety in a hurry.
Celtic, by contrast, leave Ayrshire with their new striker vindicated and their attack already purring.
Vrancken finds his foothold at Hearts
Wouter Vrancken walked into Tynecastle under the weight of last season’s near-miss. Hearts pushed the title race agonisingly close; anything less than a strong follow-up was always going to draw fire.
The early weeks were brutal. European defeats, a collapse at Aberdeen, and a 6-1 mauling in Europa League qualifying had critics circling his appointment before it had really begun. Dundee United at home suddenly felt like more than just another league fixture. It felt like a test of nerve.
Hearts passed it. Emphatically.
Against United, everything that had looked disjointed clicked. The Jambos were sharp in the final third, ruthless when chances arrived and, crucially, composed at the back. For a team missing six players through injury and suspension, that control carried real weight.
The scoreline flattered them a touch. Dundee United saw plenty of the ball, created opportunities and moved the game into promising areas, only to fall short with the final touch. Possession without incision rarely wins you anything at Tynecastle.
Vrancken will not care about the caveats. He needed a performance that looked like a blueprint rather than a warning sign. He finally has one.
Phillips lifts St Mirren – but for how long?
St Mirren sit level with Celtic at the top of the table, two games in, with maximum points and back-to-back clean sheets. For a club of their size, that is the stuff of early-season dreams.
At the heart of it all stands Killian Phillips. After his opening-day double, he decided the meeting of the two Saints in Paisley from the spot, his penalty the only goal in a tight contest.
His form has not gone unnoticed. Interest is building, his contract is running down, and Craig McLeish has been open about helping the midfielder secure the best move possible as he enters the final year of his deal. It is a pragmatic stance, but one that carries risk for a team riding his influence.
St Johnstone, newly promoted and buoyed by a winning return to the top flight, played with confidence. They just couldn’t finish. No shots on target before the break, a missed penalty, the woodwork rattled. The chances were there, the cutting edge was not, and their bright start to the match dissolved into regret.
St Mirren march on. The question is how long they can keep doing it with their standout player on every scout’s watchlist.
Dundee rise as Aberdeen lose their edge
Seven days can twist a story. Aberdeen, who had dug deep to produce a stirring fightback against Hearts, arrived at Dens Park with momentum. They left to a chorus of boos.
This time there was no late surge, no resilience. Aberdeen never found a gear. Dundee did.
Steven Pressley’s side, edged out by Celtic on the opening weekend, were sharper, hungrier and far more incisive. The 2-0 scoreline flattered Aberdeen; a heavier defeat would not have been unjust.
Joe Bevan led the way. A goal, an assist, and a performance that set the tone for his team. He stretched the game, hurt Aberdeen whenever he got on the ball and turned a promising display into tangible reward. Dundee’s first points of the season felt like a marker rather than a mere correction.
These two meet again on Saturday in the League Cup. Pressley will want a repeat. Stephen Robinson, facing the same opponent so quickly after such a flat display, needs a reaction that shows Aberdeen’s fightback against Hearts was a foundation, not a false dawn.
Johansson keeps Motherwell’s standards high
Motherwell were supposed to wobble after Jens Berthel Askou’s departure. So far, they have not.
Alfred Johansson has slipped into the role and kept the Steelmen moving forward, unbeaten under his watch in Europe and at home. A clean sheet against Falkirk adds another layer of quiet confidence to a side with genuine ambitions of another top-four finish.
Motherwell started brighter at Fir Park, dictating the tempo and carrying the greater threat. Falkirk, though, refused to fold. John McGlynn, stripped of key players over the summer, has rebuilt on the fly, and his team gradually grew into the contest, earning a point that felt more like validation than relief.
For Motherwell, the platform is solid. For Falkirk, that performance, on the eve of their first break of the season, hints that the rebuild might be sturdier than many expected.
Two games in, the table is still stretching itself into shape. The questions, though, are already sharp: can Rangers steady themselves, can Celtic sustain their new cutting edge, and who among these early pacesetters will still be standing when the real pressure arrives?
