Celtic Diary Saturday December 2: Starting As We Mean To Go On

There will come a day when it becomes clear that the current run of domestic league titles ends.

Today is not that day.

Equally, there will come a day when the players and management decide that what is iurs must remain ours.

Maybe today will be that day.

Celtic go to Ibrox at lunchtime, and there should be only one thought on their minds, that of putting these pretenders to the throne back in their box.

To do that will require focus, it will require pace, and it will require a performance better than any other this season.

And we need it, because deep down I’m beginning to doubt that they will fall apart after a setback in the race to May. Their loss to St Mirren in the League Cup has been followed by straight wins, wins in difficult games.

Celtic need to win every game they play from now to May. Thats how ten in a row will be secured.

That mentality needs to be installed throughout the club, and given that we can expect nothing from anyone anywhere else , it needs to be evident today.

We’ll need to be far superior in all areas of the park from the first kick to the final whistle.

With that in mind, there’s a leaked team sheet going around that , if true, suggests Celtic will have four at the back and stifle the midfield with Scott Brown added to the four who started the last couple of games, at the expense of Leigh Griffiths.

It also suggests that Chris Jullien won’t make the game, and Shane Duffy and Kris Ajer are the central defence, with Frimpong and Taylor as full backs.

Maybe its a false flag operation, as Gerrard famously alters his line ups to deal with the opposition..

Whatever the veracity of the leak, there should be enough to win the game, and maybe the inclusion of Brown and Soro is to prtect the defence which lets face it, needs all the help it can get.

In Four Four Two magazine, there’s an interview with Gerrard which suggests a confidence in his players that wasn;t there before, but if you look between the lines, you can see a reason for it…

“I’m on record before as saying the first time we came up against Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic, it was only normal that there was a lot of anxiety. There was still players feeling a bit of hurt from previous fixtures and scorelines. 

“And I think it was only natural that we approached that game a little bit apprehensive.

“But in two-and-a-half years, I think you’ll agree with me that things have changed. The squad has grown, we’ve improved. We’ve had experiences with the journey we’ve been on. We’re in a much better place now.

“That’s not to say that the challenge isn’t going to be tough or that we don’t respect the opposition or that everything will be straight forward. It’s not like that.

“These derby games are very challenging, very tough, there’s good players on both sides.

“But for sure in terms of the confidence and the belief, every single one of my players is looking forward to this fixture. It does feel different than the first one we played.”

Despite having won every trophy he’s played for whilst Gerrard has been here, Neil Lennon isn’t mentioned here. Gerrard, aided by coach Beale, thinks he’s got the measure of him.

That is another reason to put them in their place, and perhaps they might yet collapse, as a convincing win will shatter that confidence in the Ibrox coaching staff.

There is added pressure for Lennon, with Keith Jackson at the Record reminding him that Peter Lawwell is still assessing his capability for the job….

For Neil Lennon it’s not a matter of whether or not his players are capable over overcoming Rangers.

The trophy mountain they’ve built for themselves over these last few years is all the evidence he needs.

No, Lennon’s conundrum is not if his team can beat their old rivals. It’s a question of how?

Does he go out on his shield at Ibrox today? Name his strongest starting eleven and hope that it’s functioning well enough to impose itself against the runaway league leaders and stop them in their tracks?

Or, in stead, does he have to come up with a strategy which is based upon nullifying the threats which are laced through Gerrard’s system?

Figure out how best to prevent James Tavernier and Borna Barisic from ripping down his flanks. How to flood the midfield so that Steve Davis, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo do not have the run of the place? And how to keep guard against the swarms of attacks which are likely to come in the shape of Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe.

Jackson has named eight players there. Not one of them would get a game for Celtic.

Jackson then turns the screw…in a way that is similar to the way he turned it on Gerrard after the St mirren loss…Gerrard, despite heavy investment has yet to win a single trophy for his paymasters….

The truth is, he’s shying away from nothing. Lennon knows he’s been on borrowed time since the car park started filling up a few weeks ago. He’s aware that chief executive Peter Lawwell bought him that breathing space by promising to review the situation early in the new year.

This kind of pressure should fire the players, and the management.

Though it is indicative of a mood that seems to want Lennon to fail.

And should Celtic fail to win today, the disruption and anger the media will fuel could well end any title challenge from Celtic Park.

Today marks fifty years since the 1971 Ibrox disaster, where sixty six fans were killed on a stairway, the second incident there in just two years.

Celtic fans unveiled a banner at Celtic Park….

A nice gesture.

Meanwhile, the Union Bears were doing their bit…

Which drew comment from their own…

Out in a pandemic and singing the billy boys, just what we need.

Before anyone starts I’m not anti-UB or anything but publicity like this on the eve of an old firm game isn’t required. 

You would have thought they’d be the ones to commemorate the memory of thise who lost their lives at Ibrox.

Caption competition now, and we had this on Thursday…

Today…