Celtic travel down to Motherwell today as the busy December fixture list gets underway. Fir Park isn’t the best of venues to visit, and we all have unhappy memories of the place, and as for the town, its not been the same since Tully’s shut. They used to put on pies for us when we stopped there en route to Celtic Park. We’re an easily pleased bunch in the Lennon CSC.

Ahead of the game, Brendan Rodgers, who said he wasn’t overly concerned about winning Cups, appeared to be still suffering with some sort of sore head.

“We’ve got a series of targets we need to meet and to do that there are certain facets we need to improve.

“This is about raising the standard of everything – on and off the field – and to do that you keep chipping away every day.

“If you want to be complacent then you won’t be here.

“You are only here if you want to be better.

“Do we want to be relentless? Absolutely. You can’t release yourself from the pressure if you want to be the best. There’s always pressure but it’s a nice pressure, to improve your status and improve as a player. 

Miserable sod. Everyone is allowed to stand back and applaud their achievements, otherwise there’s no incentive to achieve them,  but of course, by demanding high standards, and sticking to them, the manager is getting a response from the players, and thats what he’s there to do.

Having reminded the players they’ll get all the rest they need when they’re dead, he moved on with a subtle attack on the media…

“My only worry is for us. I can’t worry about what the critics will say. There will always be critics.

“One thing you learn as a manager is there are three types. The first will support you and recognise that because you are manager of Celtic they want you to do well.

“The other group are people who will say ‘Okay he’s doing a good job but we’ll see.’

“The third group, it wouldn’t matter if you won 15 out of 16. You should have won the 16th.

“If you won 5-0 you should have won seven. If you won eight you should have won nine.

“They are always there. Why I can stay calm is because I don’t worry about them.

“I worry about the two out of the three. But that group will always be there.

“So I don’t spend my time worrying about them. For us and the players we keep driving and pushing forward.

“Like I say, we will lose at some point. But let’s keep going and keep going, bringing our A game as often as we can.”

He keeps saying we will lose at some point, and we probably will, but the way he’s going on about it, I’m half tempted to suggest we chuck it today to get it over with.

Whilst he says that in public, you can be certain that if he says it to the players, there will be a bit added on…

“We will lose someday-but today is not that day “, which is a lot more inspirational than “We’re going to lose someday, so lets get it over with and chuck it and I’ll see you in the pub afterwards. 

There was no game in midweek, so the players should be relatively fresh, and raring to go. There might even be a surprise in the line up…

“I have a number of boys here who have been absolutely brilliant in training every day.

“Gary Mackay-Steven is really up to speed in terms of his fitness and I am actually looking forward to seeing Gary play. It has been very difficult for him because he missed out over the course of pre-season and by the time he was coming back the team was up and running. James Forrest, Scott Sinclair, Patrick Roberts, these guys were really playing well so it was difficult for him to get a chance.

“The likes of him, Ryan Christie, Liam Henderson, Cristian Gamboa, Dedryck Boyata, these are boys who have been on the outside, working very hard but haven’t had a lot of game time.

“But they are so important to what we are doing here as a squad because for us to be at our best, the players who aren’t playing need to be at their best every day and that’s what improves you as a player. So they will be critical for us in this period and I am sure they will get some game time.”

Gary Mackay Steven. Remember him ?

He is so determined to play again he even brings his own ball to training.

I’m looking forward to seeing him play again, as the complicated relationship he had with Ronny Deila had isolated him from a few of the old sweats in the dressing room, but a fresh start for him could see us have yet another option when it comes to raiding down the flanks.

Rodgers probably won’t use today to give some players a start, but don;t be surprised if one or two get some Champions League experience on Tuesday. For all this talk of “we’re going to lose some day “, Rodgers will be determined not to, and this years UCL is now second behind next years on his “Things To Sort Out ” list.

 “It is a brilliant opportunity for us to accumulate a lot more points. That is the focus.

“You are playing every two to three days but we have a good squad here and they will all be needed, and that’s why it is important that everyone in the squad feels a part of what we are doing because we will need that squad over this December period in particular.

“Every manager will say that it is a tough ask to play that many games in that period of time but if it is what is presented to you, you have to deal with it. We won’t moan, we will get on with it and it will provide us with the opportunity to work our squad.”. 

Today should see the usual suspects start the game, but with Roberts deputising for Sinclair, as he hasn’t recovered yet from the assassination attempt against Barcelona.

He’s been spending time at home , and to be honest i’m a little worried he might strain something else.

There are, of course, other games today, and the one that catches the eye is the one featuring an age old foe,  Celtics biggest rivals, and “rangers “

 Aberdeen, probably still hurting from last weeks mauling at Hampden will be out to set the record straight, and a potentially confidence boosting trip to one of the leagues weaker sides, who are having a bit of trouble in the first season at this level, could be just what the doctor ordered.

Actually, their doctor ordered all sorts of anti biotics and specialised body washes for the trip, but then again, everyone does when they go to that part of the world, if indeed it is part of this world, and not some gateway to another dimension, where immortality reigns, and its impossible to die.

Which reminds me, this has to be the single most pathetic attempt to hide the facts relating to another similar story in the history of written journalism, from the website of  Radio Clyde..

It doesn’t say who wrote it, presumably because no one would put his name to something that was obviously edited when they realised that the headline would provoke comparisons to another liquidation event, around our years ago.

Perhaps BHS will return to our street as The BHS International, but if they don’t, Marks and Spencers are hopeful of buying their history. The story doesn’t clarify if it was the shop that went bust, or the company that ran it.

Maybe when a few of the gullibillies see this story elsewhere, they’ll realise how ridiculous the media spin on the same club nonsense really is. Anyway, they should be happy to put the old club behind them, and get a chance to start all over away from a reputation, that followed them for years

Of course, they’ll never admit it they got it wrong in spending freely at the request of the succession of crooks who started a new club and pretended it was the old one., because that would confirm to the rest of us how bloody stupid they actually are, although I can re-assure them we’re already quite clear on that one.

Anyway, fair play to Aberdeen fans who will respectfully remembered the old club, the one replaced by their opponents today.

Well, sure one of the mottos they love down Kinning Park way is “Lest We Forget “..

Whilst the club above-sorry, the descendant of the club above, continue to force feed the media with reports they are about to make a big move or two  in the trnasfer market, back in the real world, Celtic continue to look at ways to improve the squad, which could actually be a lot simpler than we think.

Patrick Roberts will be kept on of he wants to stay, and there was further evidence he might just do that when he told the media he wants to go there and fight for his place when his loan expires in the summer.

Just like Jason Denaayer did.

Something which he will be well aware of, and although there is a lot of competition at Celtic as well, he knows he’s better off here than down there.

Though why a line of Sinclair , Roberts and Forrest interchanging hasn’t been tried yet is beyond me. Though there’s time yet.

The list of names associated with a January move to Celtic continues to lengthen, and the list of those about to exit lengthens further still.

Nothing is really settled yet, but James McCarthy would be the one I’d put money on joining. The others seem to be behind him in that list.

Yesterdays picture…

Yesterdays winner…