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<\/a><\/p>\nwill face Motherwell, who will wear their away outfit;<\/p>\n
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These games are usually an engrossing tactivcal battle, Celtic playing their fast passing attacking style, and Motherwell kicking everything that moves, sometimes even catching the ball by mistake.<\/p>\n
Still, manager Stuart McCall has spent a couple of years trying to iron out this sort of problem, and he’ll be hoping that theres no such nonsense today. In years gone by, Motherwell manager Jock Wallace, a former army sargeant major, would lead his players up and down sand dunes to get them fit, rather like they do in the Army, a move learned on the beaches near Dunkirk in 1940 when the British bulldog spirit led to a massive straightening of the front line by putting as much distance as they could between them and the advancing German Army.<\/p>\n
McCall has modified it slightly, yet keeping to the Army tradition of bullying and intimidating anyone they can get away with.<\/p>\n
Unless they get caught on camera.<\/p>\n
With Inverness winning and Hamilton drawing yesterday, the pressure is on Celtic to close the gap at the top, and although many of us think the league is a foregone conclusion, thats not an idea shared by the other eleven teams in the league. The longer we are playing catch up, the harder it will get to pull it back.<\/p>\n
Last seasons huge margin seems a long way away, but perhaps we should count ourselves fortunate. Look at Liverpool, they promised so much this year, yet were hammered ( see what I did there ? ) by West Ham yesterday, and manager Brendan Rodgers was forced to admit they have lost a lot of their bite this term.<\/p>\n
Celtic however, and manager Ronny deila are ready for the visit of the Lanarkshire side, and the boss reckons that Motherwell will be motivated for this one. Yeah, motivated. You could call it that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you see a team against Celtic they will be 50 to 100 per cent better than they were in the last game,” he said. “It\u2019s like a cup final for them, and that\u2019s why every game is difficult in Scotland.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t surprise me.I’ve been the underdog before and when you meet a big team you have nothing to lose and just go for it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic if you win those games, and I understand that it\u2019s huge for the other clubs to meet Celtic, especially when they come to Celtic Park with the crowd and fans.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere is a lot of motivation. But it\u2019s at Celtic Park and we will do everything to have a good performance and win the game.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou have to work in every match to get three points and we did that on Thursday night and that\u2019s why we got a good result, and we will do the same on Sunday,” he continued.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about attitude, motivation and being ready for every game. That culture has been here for many years of winning games in Europe and in the league at the same time, so the players are used to it.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n “It\u2019s a very important game on Sunday and we will do everything we can to win it.\u00a0Motherwell is a game we have to take seriously and we have to do everything we can to win it.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The Norwegian also explained he may make a few changes to the line up today, with a heavy schedule ahead;<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cWe have six or seven games now in three weeks so you have to see the full picture,\u201d explained the Hoops boss. \u201cYou need to use your squad and that\u2019s why we have a big one.<\/em><\/p>\n “We will have a very good team on Sunday but we will see how things go in training and how people are feeling before we decide who will play.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Ah. Training. funny he should mention that.<\/p>\n Neil Lennon, mutually consented by the board when he questioned the clubs lack of investment once too often, actually, that should read, ” once, which was too often” has chucked in his tuppence worth after Ronny questioned the fitness level of the team he inherited;<\/p>\n \u201cAll you hear now is that you need to ban chips, tomato sauce, fizzy drinks. Yeah, because that makes them better players.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disrespectful when a new manager comes in and immediately says, \u2018The players aren\u2019t fit enough\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t monitor what players were eating in the canteen. You have a set diet and the food at Celtic was top class. See if I see a player happy and full of running, I just let him carry on.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPsychologically, the player is happy so if he wants to have a Coca-Cola, let him have one. Some players carry weight because it suits them. It gives them a little bit more power.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cGazza used to hold people off because he was a little bit heavier, with a change of pace. John Hartson was built like a brick outhouse but he scored loads of goals. He wasn\u2019t the most athletic but was a brilliant footballer. He scored in big games in the Champions League. Everyone\u2019s different.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0To be fair to him, anyone who saw Lennon still running around in Seville in those temperatures towards the end of extra time would agree with that, and I’d rather have John Hartson up front than any of our present lot, energy drinks or not, so although sports science is important, man management is even more so.<\/p>\n \u00a0And it does help if you can play a bit.<\/p>\n \u00a0However, thats not to say Lennon was justified in coming out and criticising Deila. We can do without that. He should have made his comments in private, on the car park after a few beers like the rest of us do.<\/p>\n \u00a0Still, even if Lennon was felt he was right to say what he did, it comes nowhere near the naivety of Ronnys latest meanderings…<\/p>\n \u00a0You see, theres a chance that Celtic could face the Second Rangers International , or whatever they are called this week, in the League Cup, and the hoops boss is looking forward to it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be fantastic if we can have an Old Firm game again.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThese are the big games and I think everyone is looking forward o them. It will be a tough match against Hearts but we\u2019re looking forward to it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe League Cup is the first trophy I can win. I can assure you I\u2019ll go out 100 per cent to win it.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Perhaps he can be excused for this simply on the grounds that he has never been involved in one before. Of course, the 2012 death of Rangers means he never will be, but perpetuating the myth of eternal life is inexcusable for anyone associated with Celtic, and its another reason why when they go down this time, they’ll simply pop back up again, like that ugly wart you can never quite get rid of.<\/p>\n Of course, that was music to the ears of chunky funster Ally McCoist, who is still clinging on to the reins at Ibrox, and he burbled;<\/p>\n
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