Celtic need to get back into their stride today down at rugby Park. Don’t take my word for it. Chris Sutton thinks so too.<\/p>\n
” The manager will be smarting after losing to Morton and he\u2019ll want to take care of Killie this afternoon to send Celtic into Europe on a high.<\/p>\n
Ayrshire is where Celtic make a statement of intent ”<\/p>\n
Fighting talk from the former centre forward who himself was no shrinking violet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sutton , in his newspaper ( Newspaper? Really ? Its the Record… ) column sounds just as annoyed about the midweek Morton defeat as any other fan;<\/p>\n
” CARDS on the table. Celtic losing at home to Morton in the League Cup and failing to take another step towards winning the Treble is a disastrous result. ”<\/p>\n
” There are levels of play that are acceptable when you\u2019re wearing Celtic\u2019s shirt and some players fell beneath that standard in midweek. ”<\/p>\n
One abiding memory of Sutton when he wore the hoops was when he came out to the wing to help out Alan Thompson, who had been dithering, and shouted, as he passed by..<\/p>\n
” Fucks sake Alan, switch on. ”<\/p>\n
That level of commitment and focus will be required today in Ayrshire when Celtic line up against Kilmarnock. \u00a0Manager Neil Lennon is aware that the players might well have half an eye on the upcoming glamour match against the short arse tippy tappers of Barcelona;<\/p>\n
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“I’m not looking beyond tomorrow and I’ve made it clear to the players that anyone who has their eye on Tuesday won’t play Tuesday,”<\/p>\n
Barcelona will be delighted. Celtic will be lucky to field half a dozen players.<\/p>\n
You can’t blame them. As supporters we look forward to the big games, and sometimes feel that we go to the less exciting ones more out of habit than anything else. Sure, there is the argument about their professionalism, but it has to be remembered that they are only human.<\/p>\n
Well, most of them, anyway.<\/p>\n
Having drawn level on points with leaders Inverness, and having a game in hand, the players might be forgiven for perhaps not giving one hundred per cent, but quite simply, that attitude has already cost us a treble this season, and the team need to put on a committed, focussed and entertaining show today, if only to restore morale after what has been a less than convincing couple of weeks.<\/p>\n
Celtic will be without Beram Kayal, James Forrest and Joe Ledley. The latter won’t make the Barcelona game either, which is worrying. Celtics midfield is not the same without him.<\/p>\n
Expect Nir Bitton to be given a chance to stake a claim for a regular slot, and you get the feeling that Derk Boerrigter needs to start doing something as well. Though in fairness to the Dutchman, out would help if his team mates remembered he was there and gave him the ball every now and then. He looked a little withdrawn when he was sitting on the bench the other day.<\/p>\n
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Kilmarnock will not be fielding on loan youngster Jackson Irvine against his parent club, thankfully this time Celtic decided to put in a clause forbidding this, and sparing us the circus that surrounded Mo Bangura when he faced the hoops for Elfsborg.<\/p>\n
Lennon is happy enough with the way things are going for Irvine;<\/p>\n
“I’m delighted for him,I’m delighted that he has taken the opportunity to go out on loan and play.<\/p>\n
“He did really well for us against Liverpool. Allan Johnstone rates him highly because he’s played in him in all the games and he’s a good kid.<\/p>\n
“This period is important for him. Hopefully he’ll come back a better player and more experience.”<\/p>\n
Someone else who has been put out on loan is Tony Watt. After exploding on to the scene last season, the former Airdrie man appeared to start believing his own hype, and was sent to Belguim to re discover his form.<\/p>\n
Despite scoring within a couple of minutes of his debut, as a sub, he was accused of being fat and lazy by the Belgian manager.<\/p>\n
Watt netted his second goal in two games in a Belgian Cup success over minnows Lommel United and celebrated by whipping off his top to show off his torso in response to the criticism he has received.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Watt explained: \u201cI just wanted to show that I am not fat. I knew perfectly well that if I took my top off I would get a yellow card \u2013 it happens all over the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I just wanted to show everyone that I am in prime condition. I am not too fat and I wanted to prove this.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Collins would have nodded approvingly, given his own obsession with physique.<\/p>\n
Watt has been given a kick up the arse, and seems to have responded the right way. So far.<\/p>\n
In other news, Celtic have announced a partnership with Stubhub, ” the worlds largest ticket marketplace\u00a0and part of the eBay Inc group of companies, ”<\/p>\n
Their spokesman said;<\/p>\n
“We are delighted to be partnering with Celtic Football Club. With passionate and faithful fans across the UK, as well as the US East Coast, Celtic will benefit from StubHub’s broad reach in both territories to help attract fans to Celtic Park. Consistent with all our partnerships, we will have an activation-focused approach and look forward to working closely with the Club to provide its fans with great experiences.”<\/p>\n
Peter Lawwell, Chief Executive of Celtic Football Club added:<\/p>\n
“On behalf of everyone at Celtic, I am delighted to welcome StubHub to the Club’s family of partners. This partnership is great news for Celtic fans who may not be able to commit to coming to every home game but would still like to show their support and attend when they can. By using a safe, secure and trusted channel like StubHub, we hope to welcome fans from across the world to Celtic Park.”<\/p>\n
The press release also contains a wee bit of information about the company;<\/p>\n
About StubHub<\/p>\n
StubHub is a ticket marketplace that connects buyers to sellers, however, unlike current UK competitors, the company does not buy or sell tickets itself or charge fans additional booking fees at the point of purchase – a first for the industry.<\/p>\n
StubHub, which launched in the US in 2000, consistently holds the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the entire ticketing industry, and boasts one of the highest scores in all of e-commerce. Every purchase made through the site is backed by StubHub’s FanProtect<\/i>\u2122 Guarantee, which guards against fraud and ensures that buyers get what they pay for.<\/p>\n
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