RANGERS reject Andy Halliday insists his former Ibrox team-mates hadn’t give up on overtaking Celtic in the race for the title.
Steven Gerrard’s side were 13 points behind with the Hoops only eight games away from claiming their ninth successive crown before football went into lockdown in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The SPFL hierarchy took the decision to award the championship to Neil Lennon’s outfit when they brought down the curtain on the Premiership last month.
Twenty-eight-year-old Halliday, who spent five years at his boyhood favourites after joining from Bradford City, was allowed to leave at the end of his contract.
The midfielder is disappointed he couldn’t say goodbye to the Gers fans in the stadium, but he’s even more dejected they didn’t get the chance to try and catch the Hoops before the shutdown. Gerrard’s team had a game in hand against St Johnstone and they were also due to face the Hoops twice, home and away.
Halliday, speaking to PLZ Soccer, said: “There were still two Old Firm games to go, I’m not going to sit here and lie, Celtic were the favourites to go on and win the title.
“But Rangers have won two league titles on the last day of the season – when Celtic could have beat Motherwell.
“Rangers have been seven points clear going into a title race and ending up losing the title, so it was a ‘never say never; scenario.
“Celtic were the favourites, but as players we’re always going to think we can claw it back taking it a game at a time and try beat them.
“Going into two Old Firm games, both of them being must-wins, but, obviously, it got taken out of anyone’s hands by the SPFL making the decision for everyone, so it’s all guns blazing for Rangers going into next year now.”
Halliday is now on the look-out for a new club with a move to the MLS not being ruled out.
