Holt itching to atone for the scars of Celtic Park
PERCHED high in the main stand as Rangers capitulated at Celtic Park in September, Jason Holt might well have considered himself to be one of the lucky ones.
Sidelined through injury, the midfielder was a frustrated onlooker as Brendan Rodgers truly announced his arrival as Celtic manager with his team’s 5-1 hammering of their great rivals.
For Holt, however, the physical discomfort that denied him any chance of making a telling contribution for Mark Warburton’s side was nothing compared with the pangs of helplessness he felt as the goals flew in.
‘I was injured, but I was at the game,’ Holt recalled. ‘You feel for the boys and the most frustrating thing is not being able to help out. That was back in September, so it’s a wee while ago now and I think we’ve made improvements since then.
‘This will be a different experience, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s always a great atmosphere in the ones I watched previously at Celtic Park and Sunday will be no different.
‘We’ll go there with a strategy to try to get something from the game. Every player looks forward to an Old Firm match. These are the games players sign for Rangers to play in.’
Few, however, who have etched their names on the dotted line down the decades could ever have bargained for one quite like this. Presently 33 points ahead of Rangers, Celtic need only to avoid defeat tomorrow to officially end what has passed for the Ibrox’s club’s title challenge this season with ten games still remaining.
In days gone by, anyone fancying a flutter on the fixture would struggle to get a cigarette paper between the respective prices on offer. Odds of upwards of 8-1 on a Rangers victory tell their own sorry story of the campaign so far.
It would normally seem faintly insulting to ask a footballer if they genuinely believe they can win a particular match. In Rangers’ case, though, it’s now a legitimate inquiry.
‘Most people on the outside don’t think we can win but, as players, we believe,’ Holt added.
‘If nobody else believes in you then, as players, you need to believe in yourselves. We will thrive on that. We can’t pay any attention to what is happening on the outside. We concentrate on what is said in-house. Of course, we have to have confidence and we do going into this game.’
The ‘going for 55’ card display hasn’t been seen since the early weeks of the season.
Not long after that drubbing at Parkhead, the mantra became less emboldened. Something about being highly competitive rather than being the best.
Yet as the final stretch of the season approaches, Rangers haven’t even met that revised target. Tomorrow would be a good time to start.
Whether or not Pedro Caixinha is present in the stand, Rangers can ill-afford to let the six-point gap to second-placed Aberdeen become insurmountable.
Becoming the first Scottish side to defeat Celtic this season would also mean so much to their fans — not just one-upmanship for a day, but a statement of intent that a fightback of sorts is under way. ‘That would be great,’ Holt said. ‘We have the task of going there and trying to win the game. Celtic have done extremely well and we’ve played them three times this season and not won. So I think we owe it to the fans to go and do it. ‘You need to give them (Celtic) credit. They have done extremely well this season and everyone has to say that. ‘Domestically they are unbeaten but we will go on Sunday with a task to do.’