ONLY in Scotland could the managers of the top two teams in the league experience the throat constriction, dry mouth and sweaty palms of men facing darkly uncertain futures. Walter Smith's Rangers are lurching, rather than breezing, towards thee finishing line in the championship, towing a massive support unconvinced of his ability to take them where they really want to go.
The 2-1 defeat at home to Kilmarnock is statistical evidence that the champions have not improved an inch since last season, when they lost three matches and dropped 21 points in the entire, 36 match schedule.
With five games of the current campaign still to be played, they have lost four and conceded 22 points. If anything, Rangers appear to have gone backwards.
Smith has had to cope with an impossible series of injuries to important players - most notably Gascoigne and Gough - but this has only highlighted the awkward truth that, without one or two individuals, they find it difficult to damage opponents.
Kilmarnock's goals, one from McIntyre and a penalty from Wright - Durie's counter was sandwiched between them - reduced Rangers' lead from seven points to six because Celtic seem to have deteriorated even further than their rivals.
Even before the 2-2 draw at Dunfermline - having to come from two down with goals from O'Donnell and Donnelly after the Fife side had scored through Britton and Curran - Tommy Burns had intimated that he was unhappy at his own situation.
"My position has not been mentioned," he said, "and I'm a bit disappointed that it is not clearercut. If your contract was due to expire in six weeks, would you not be giving it some thought?"
The Celtic chairman, Fergus McCann, issued an enigmatic statement at Dunfermline, talking of looking at the whole picture at the end of the season and what has been achieved in the three years since he took over the club and appointed Burns. He stressed that Burns had been backed by more money than any other Celtic manager in history and agreed that great progress had been made since the black days of near bankruptcy, when the old board was dusted. But nowhere was there a pledge to retain the manager.
Burns has the Scottish Cup left in which to win a trophy this season - Celtic play First Division Falkirk in the semi-final - and Smith will surely remain at least another season if the much coveted ninth successive title is landed.
But the spectre of dismal failure in Europe by both sides hovers - around the respective managers shoulders and some serious improvement will have to be evidenced in the coming months if job security is to be achieved.
. Paul Gascoigne insists he will be back in blue before the end of the season after issuing yet another public apology to Rangers.
The troubled England star has said sorry to manager Walter Smith and supporters following his recent, much publicised antics.
"I have 15 months left on my contract and it is the intention on both sides that I will see out that contract in full and hopefully Rangers will win 10 out of 10," said Gascoigne.
