Every bullish Rangers title boast as Cyriel Dessers adds name to Celtic bulletin board

Confident Cyriel Dessers reckons Rangers are "the best team in the league".

And while he may yet be proven right in their quest to wrestle the title back from Parkhead, history shows it could just as easily come back to bite him. The Nigerian raised a few eyebrows with his quotes after Gers set up a Scottish Cup final with Celtic by downing Hearts at Hampden. Despite their recent stumbles leaving the champions three points ahead in Premiership title hunt, a bullish Dessers said: "If we can find that rhythm back then I think we're the best team in the league and hopefully we can show that in the next games."

It is not the first boast of its kind, nor have they been exclusive to Rangers. Giorgos Giakoumakis famously put it all on the line in 2022 while Callum McGregor took down the Light Blues with savage attack during an interview in a hospitality suite during an Old Firm derby win earlier this season. But as Celtic fans and pundits call for Dessers' quotes to be plastered on the dressing room wall ahead of the two final derbies, we've taken a look at some similar predictions that have out of Ibrox - and they've tended to come back to bite them.

Martyn Waghorn

Victory over Celtic in the Scottish Cup while they were still in the second tier gave Rangers belief they could challenge the dominant Hoops the following season. And former strike Waghorn was one of those who had real belief that they could claim the title.

Asked if the dramatics last four shoot-out win over Celtic at Hampden meant Gers could win the league next season, 28-goal Waghorn said: “Yes, of course. It’s Rangers Football Club we’re playing for and we want to be competing at the highest level. Last week showed we’re really not that far away.” But he didn’t bank on the appointment of Brendan Rodgers and what the following season would bring...

Niko Kranjcar

In the summer of 2016, new arrival Niko Kranjcar was full of confidence just days after after signing for Rangers. After being drafted in by Mark Warburton to take the fight to Rodgers across the city, he said: “I am not going to sit here and say, ‘They are better than us’. They’re not. We are going to say, ‘We’re the best team in this league’.

"That’s the way it has to be. The only thing left then is to prove it. I’m certain we are in a great position to push Celtic all the way." Celtic went on to do an Invincible Treble.

Kyle Laferty

The Steven Gerrard years did eventually yield Rangers the 55th league title they had long been waiting for, but it didn't come as soon as Kyle Lafferty would have liked. In 2018, soon after Gerrard's arrival, he boasted: "Everyone in the Rangers dressing room believes that we’ll get 55 and that this will be the year we’ll win the league.” But it would take another three seasons before the trophy was finally back at Ibrox, by which point Lafferty had long since left.

Sheyi Ojo

One of Gerrard's big summer signings in 2019, winger Ojo was full of beans after arriving on loan from Liverpool. When asked if any other team in Scotland impresses him, he said of Neil Lennon's Hoops: "Not really, to be honest. I think Rangers are the best team in the league. It is just about us proving we are the best team and doing really well this season. I think the most important thing, and the gaffer has told us this, is just to focus on ourselves. The difference last season was nine points. It proved we’re pretty close to Celtic. It’s just about concentrating on ourselves and then we’ll be able to make up those fine margins.

"The season hasn’t started yet. We haven’t played Celtic yet. For me, coming here I feel like Rangers is the best team in the league. It’s one of the reasons why I came here. I want to be part of a winning team and I think Rangers can do that this season." The following season was curtailed by Covid-19, Celtic winning the trophy after it was ended early by a vote.

Michael Beale

Beale was tasked with picking up the pieces left by Gio van Bronckhorst and he said in 2022: “I don’t think anyone will (rest until we overthrow Celtic). And if I didn’t think we could do it with this group of players, I wouldn’t have come back. By that, I mean everybody that’s available in our squad. If you write our squad down and put it next to our biggest rivals’ - OK then, it’s game on. Game on.

“I’m watching the World Cup right now and there are teams who are committed, together and beating sides outside their means. So if you put our two squads together? Game on." Within a year, he was sacked without winning a trophy.

Fashion Sakala

And that brings us to February of last year when Fashion Sakala had a few heads in hands when he claimed Gers were 'so much better' than Celtic...even though they were nine points adrift of Ange Postecoglou's team.

Speaking ahead of the 2023 League Cup final, which Celtic won 2-1, he said: "Yes we’re better than them, so much better! But we’re nine points behind! We’ll keep fighting anyway. I think we are such a better club. A far better club. If we get that trophy on Sunday it will prove that we are a better team than them.”