THERE’S NEVER A DULL MOMENTUM IN PARADISE
Donnelly: Crucial period could define Celtic’s season
SCOTTISH football is bracing itself for five weeks that could define the entire season.
The diet of domestic football will resume after the international break on Saturday, November 24.
Between then and December 29, both Celtic and Rangers will face 11 vital matches.
Former Hoops midfielder Simon Donnelly is adamant the hectic period will determine whether or not the champions will stay on course for an unprecedented third clean sweep in a row.
Only goal difference separates Celtic and Hearts at the top of the Premiership with Steven Gerrard’s Rangers just two points adrift in third spot.
Brendan Rodgers’ men are gearing themselves up for a hectic spell at home and abroad and Donnelly can’t wait for it all to unfold.
He said: “There are some great fixtures coming up. They’re absolutely mouthwatering and will certainly shape the season for both Celtic and Rangers.
“Celtic have the League Cup Final against Aberdeen and Rodgers’ team have traditionally kicked on in the past two years after winning that trophy.
“The League Cup is always massive for everybody at the club. It’s another huge one for the players and they will want to retain their grip on all of the domestic silverware.
“If Celtic were to lose the cup final I don’t know if it would have a negative effect on them but I think it would certainly give the rest of the league a huge lift.
“It would be interesting to see how the Celtic players react if they were to lose at Hampden.
“At the start of the season Celtic had not hit the heights of the previous two campaign. Recently though they were starting to find their groove and it was looking ominous for the rest.
“But the Livingston result showed they are going to have to bring their ‘A’ game to the table all over again.
“That’s because of the way the league is poised at the minute with Rangers breathing down Celtic’s necks and Hearts right up there too.
“Also I’m a big admirer of the way Hibs are playing under Neil Lennon and Aberdeen are getting their act together now.”
Donnelly reckons juggling domestic fixtures with the Europa League is an added complication for Celtic.
They breathed new life into their European adventure with a superb 2-1 win over RB Leipzig last midweek and Donnelly said: “That result has thrown another spanner in the works.
“That was a massive result for Celtic because had they lost to the Germans they were out of Europe altogether.
“Celtic now need to find a way of coping and that will impact on them
domestically as they travel to Easter Road to play Hibs immediately after the Salzburg game.
“The clash in Edinburgh could prove to be a huge game in the Premiership title race come the final reckoning.
“I remember my own playing days when we were juggling European matches on the Thursday with domestic games at the weekend.
“It is difficult to handle the psychological side of competing on all fronts at all times. As a Celtic player you just have to find a way of dealing with that. These are the games you are desperate to play in.”
Donnelly knows Celtic will also be hoping to have the likes of Scott Brown, Olivier Ntcham and Leigh Griffiths back for the explosive end-of-year Premiership double-header away to Aberdeen and Rangers.
Rodgers’ side face a trip to Pittodrie on Boxing Day before bringing the festive curtain down with a visit across the Clyde to Ibrox three days later.
The long-awaited return of Griffiths could be pivotal, not least because Celtic are functioning at this minute with just one fully-fit striker in the shape of Odsonne Edouard.
Donnelly said: “You have to remember Celtic have been missing Brown, Ntcham and Griffiths in recent weeks.
“They have been operating with one fully-fit striker in Edouard and Rodgers will be wanting Griffiths to return to the first-team fold as quickly as possible.
“Edouard is on a real hot run of form. Griffiths is the top striker at the club when he is on song but he needs to get his fitness levels back up to speed.
“Celtic are relying on Edouard a fair bit at the moment which is why Rodgers and the supporters will want to see Griffiths back on the pitch as soon as possible, especially ahead of the Aberdeen and Rangers games in late December.
“These two matches are going to be vital to Celtic’s season because the talk now is can the club complete the treble Treble?
“The club, the manager and the players will inevitably play it down but the bulk of that Celtic squad are used to winning.
“There will be a bigger challenge and threat posed to Rodgers’ team now than in the two years previous.
“The trips to Pittodrie and Ibrox will go a long way to seeing if we will have a Premiership title race on our hands.
“I always felt Celtic wouldn’t run away with the league this season, that it wouldn’t be a one-horse race. The way it’s going right now is great for Scottish football.
“It will be interesting to see how it pans out and it is going to be a cracking five weeks of football.
“December in particular is going to be absolutely fantastic and that is shaping up to be one heck of a month. It is certainly going to capture the imagination.”