WE’VE GOT THE BITT BETWEEN OUR TEETH
NIR BITTON reckons an insatiable desire to prove they are the best team in Scotland is driving Celtic’s incredible 60-game unbeaten record in domestic football.
While the Israeli international concedes this run will come to an end at some point and that Brendan Rodgers, who has never lost to Scottish opposition, will taste defeat eventually, Bitton is determined to ensure it doesn’t happen any time soon.
And definitely not on Wednesday night, when Celtic face their toughest test – away to joint leaders Aberdeen.
Bitton returned to the starting line-up at Hampden on Saturday, playing his part in the 4-2 semi-final defeat of Hibs that took his side to next month’s final of the Betfred Cup.
It was another remarkable show of resilience from a team that had run itself into the ground trying to contain Bayern Munich in Bavaria just three days earlier.
But stand-in centre back Bitton wasn’t surprised by his team’s ability to dig in when the going got tough in the second half against Neil Lennon’s side.
He said: “The drive to keep this run going comes from just being the best.
“To reach that level is difficult but to stay there is even more so.
“That’s what we want to show everyone, it’s not finished.
“We want to keep going, keep winning and stretch that unbeaten run.
“We will lose at some point but we’ll take every game with 100 per cent concentration and try to play our game.
“People need to understand we have a busy schedule.
“Most of the guys who played on Wednesday came home late. People didn’t sleep.
“The most important thing is we won, we go to the final and we’ll keep pushing. We want to win every game – but we take each on its own.
“The thing we want to show everyone is that we are the best, we want to stay at the top and we want to win every game – to be the best. We have been together for 16 months and it doesn’t matter who is coming into the team, you lose as a team and win as a team.”
Bitton doesn’t hide the fact he’d rather be employed in the middle of the park but he admits he is more than happy to step back into the defence when necessary.
And his display against Hibs was assured enough to suggest he’ll retain his place alongside Dedryck Boyata for the visit to Pittodrie.
He added: “I’m trying to do