Today, they tell me, is the first day of Spring.

When the darkness of winter subsides, when hope and optimism begins for a new season, a better season of prosperity and hope.  When you feel that perhaps the hard times of winter are behind us, and the future holds days filled with sunshine and smiles.

For most of us, anyway. Then someone comes along, in this case , a chap called Mark McDougall, who seems to want to remain shrouded in darkness. I don’t normally start with someone elses article, but this is, well, special.

The Metro, a publication which appears online when an article of particular merit is published, had his musings yesterday, which offers a new definition of the phrase “particular merit ” .

Still, you can’t deny its a catchy headline;

Scottish Cup success would mean Rangers have had a better season than Celtic

Although Dundee United stand in their way before Rangers can even think of winning the Scottish Cup, victory in the final will mean they’ve had a better season than Celtic.

This should be good. Just to be clear on what he is implying;

Neil Lennon’s side might be running away with the Scottish Premiership but is that enough to deem the season a success for Celtic?

Well, its “better ” than Division 3.

The Champions League group stages were far from good, and the League Cup and Scottish Cup were ultimately disastrous.

Celtic got further than “Rangers ” in the League Cup, “Rangers ” are currently still in the Scottish Cup. Neither offers the prestige or financial reward of the Champions League. Nor, indeed, does Division 3 success.

Defeats to Greenock Morton and Aberdeen both came at Celtic Park where, ironically, the finals of both competitions are held this season.

Well, aren’t we lucky not to be involved ?

The league campaign went as well as expected for Neil Lennon’s men. Yes, they were tipped to win it but nothing is guaranteed in football and they have merely lived up to the hype as overwhelming favourites with only one league defeat this season.

The bastards.

Celtic fans may scoff at the suggestion Rangers will have had the more successful season if they win the Scottish Cup, but it’s hard to argue against it.

Even harder to argue for it…

Rangers have strolled through League One and completed stage two of their journey back to the top after beating Airdrieonians 3-0 at Ibrox.

Back to the top ? Here we go again…..

They have a Ramsdens Cup final versus Raith Rovers to look forward to, as well as a Scottish Cup semi-final at Ibrox versus Dundee United in which Jackie McNamara’s men will go in as favourites despite the match being at Ibrox. However, you can’t write off Ally McCoist’s side just yet.

I think we can. Just the fact that its Ally McCoists side means they can be written off against a full time professional outfit.

While League One and the Ramsdens Cup are not major achievements, they are competitions entered by Rangers to win and if they do so then they are successes. The idea that they shouldn’t be celebrated is baffling because you can only beat what is put in front of you – thus far, Rangers have.

Er, isn’t that what Celtic did, or was it just living up to the hype ? 

It’s unfair to write off Rangers’ victories as nothing purely because they are expected to win – just as it is unfair to write off Celtic’s victories in their league campaign.

But you’ll do it anyway…

Both teams have done well in the league and deserve credit for that, even if fans aren’t always delighted by how their teams play.

There are still many obstacles in front of Rangers, in particular the semi-final clash against Dundee United, but if they can get past the Tangerines and into the final then there is no reason why they can’t win the Scottish Cup in a one-off game in the final.

See above, the answer is in the  phrase “Ally McCoists side “

If they do take the Scottish Cup back to Ibrox for the 34th time, along with the League One championship and potentially the Ramsdens Cup, then it will make Rangers’ season a superior one to Celtic’s.

34th time ? Here we go again…… 

Hope may spring eternal, but reality is a cruel mistress.

And sometimes, its easier not to face her.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Kris Commons has reminded us exactly how delighted he is to be at Celtic-in what is a thinly veiled “wheres that bloody contract you kept going on about ?” chat to the Evening Times;

“I moved up and have had two children here,” he said. “My family have settled in.

“My friends and family who come up and see me on a regular basis all love being a part of it.

“It’s been magic for me.

“Three years I’ve here, and I can’t say I’ve had too many bad times I can think of.

“So, it has been a dream move and some of the best moments of my career have been here.”

“I have got a year left on my contract in the summer.

“Hopefully, I can start sorting things out for the future.”

He was full of praise for manager Neil Lennon, in what was a thinly veiled etc, etc.

“Neil knows exactly what Celtic are all about.

“He’s been here for many, many years, not only as player, but also as a manager.

“Neil is getting a team together now to stay competitive, not only in the league, but in Europe, as well.

“We’ve had a taste of the Champions League, and it’s something you want to do every single year.

“Neil being Neil, he will want to just keep doing that.

“However, as well as he keeps doing, the more speculation will happen in the press in England.

“But, if he was going to move, it would have to be the right job. And I don’t think that is out there at the minute.”

Commons is a great wee player, who has bought into the Celtic ethic. As he moves into a role as a senior player, he ill be invaluable off the pitch in selling the club to those who just got here, and to those yet to arrive. Can we put his mind at rest ?

Goalkeeper and England international Fraser Forster has told the Daily Record of his delight in being on the brink of three in a row, and confirms that it has been hard work.

“It’s been an excellent few years. It has been a bit disappointing in the cups but I feel we have shown in the league how well we can play and how consistent we can be.

“The league is the competition where you play most games and fundamentally it gets you into the Champions League. You do work hard for it.

“It’s what you come back in early in pre-season for. It justifies all the work you do throughout the season, if you go on and win the league. It’s always something special and it will be good if it comes along.

“We’re getting closer to it and are just a few wins away. We’re just taking it a game at a time.

“It’s something the lads have been focused on since the start of the season. We’ve just been chipping away at it and we’re getting near so it’s important we continue to pick up results and perform in a good manner as well.”

“The next few weeks are vital for us. If we keep winning our matches then collectively it will all add up.

“I won a league before I came to Celtic and since coming here we’ve won a trophy every year.

“It’s obviously nice to win things and it’s a good pressure to have on you when you’re expected to win every game.

“At a club like this a draw is not good enough so it’s a good pressure to have on you and it really makes you want to go out there and perform.”

He then spoke of the prospect of playing champions League qualifiers at Murrayfield, hinting at a mentality that doesn’t switch off for the summer within the club.

“It will be something different as none of us will have played there. We won’t be massively aware of the surrounding but it’s an amazing stadium and our support will be fantastic.

“We’ve seen how good they are on Champions League nights and they demand so much of us. They expect us to go out and win and more times than not we have done that this season and played really well.

“Their support can be like a 12th man for us so they deserve a big credit. It will be great if we can go out and win the league and then everyone can celebrate.

“If we can get in the Champions League when we come back after the summer it will be an interesting time.”

Apart from that bit.

Now, lets look further ahead, six Celtic Youth Academy players have been included in the Scotland squad for the forthcoming UEFA European U17 Championship elite round.

Jack Breslin, Sam Wardrop, Aidan Nesbitt, Joe Thomson, Steven Boyd and Calvin Miller have been chosen to represent their country.

Scotland Under-17s will play three fixtures in the elite round:
v Boznia-Herzegovina, Rugby Park, March 24 (KO: 6pm)
v Belgium, Cappielow, March 26 (KO: 6pm)
v Romania, Rugby Park, March 29 (KO: 3pm)

A while back I offered the idea that Celtic TV should be used more by those in charge to promote whats going on in and around the club , by regaining its slot on the Sky TV platform. Word from the board is that it would be overly expensive to do this, but if this tournament, the Next Gen tournament, and other programmes that let the supporter watch the youngsters in action, then with the right kind of promotion, the channel would be a success.

Financing it ? Well, not all the youth squad will make it to Celtics first team, but five figure deals here and there for players would go towards what in effect would be a showcase for them. A long term development could also see more and more of the available young talent choose Lennoxtown knowing that they would be on a bigger stage, and increasing their chances of making a career out of football.

And, of course, we get first dibs on them.

A wee bit of investment could pay off further down the line, and it would also allow the support a look at these players, which in turn may lead to increased attendances and support for the youngsters, not only from the main support, but from their peers, which in turn creates new supporters.

If we can’t invest in ourselves, then who can we invest in ?

Celtic do need to up their game with self promotion, especially targeted at the younger fan. If it was done with the same vigour and enthusiasm that Police Scotland target the Celtic fans, then we’d be the biggest club in the world by next Tuesday.

Elsewhere, the row between Dundee Utd and the SFA has been taken “behind closed doors “, which is as disappointing as it was predictable.

Over on the KDS forum, a poster wants to highlight the fact that the SFA receives a significant amount of public money to perform its duties, and wonders if that is a way of pressuring the stewards of our game to adopt a more transparent and accountable attitude to their duties ?

All public bodies have to account for their spending. Why should the SFA be any different ?

Its a fantastic idea, and there should be letters, emails and winging their way to the Scottish parliament even as we speak.

The clubs are doing their bit with the formation of the SPFL. Time for the fans to up the ante.

Yesterdays caption competition saw Danny McGrain showing John Terry a picture of his defensive partner for the upcoming Stilian Petrov testimonail;

” Now, son, this is Bobo, he’ll take care of you. ”

Who is Willie Maley talking to here ? And what about ?