LET’S GET THE PARTY STARTED
I’m a Celtic fan but I want to get the title wrapped up as soon as possible... preferably on Saturday
SAYS BRENDAN RODGERS
THE wit of writer Gore Vidal produced the quote which, if applied to Glasgow, neatly sums up the relationship between Celtic and Rangers.
‘It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.’
This is why some Celtic supporters could live with their team failing to win a seventh straight title at Hibernian tomorrow.
In need of three points for the title, the champions-in-waiting have five games to tie things up. And the final Old Firm league game of the season at Parkhead next weekend would be the most satisfying way to do it.
On the back of a 4-0 thrashing of their bitter rivals in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, a chance to intensify the suffering around Ibrox by securing the league championship against them is irresistible to some.
Brendan Rodgers, a supporter with professional responsibilities, sees things a little differently.
‘I am a Celtic fan but I don’t want that,’ said the Parkhead manager. ‘I want to win it on Saturday.
‘If we can do it, great. It will be a tough game for us, probably the most difficult place we could go to win it. But if it doesn’t happen, it is okay.
‘We go to the next game and, if not, the next game. The most important thing is to win and we want to win it as soon as we can.’
Celtic last won the league title at Easter Road 45 years ago, two goals from Dixie Deans and one from Kenny Dalglish securing an eighth straight title.
Hibs have drawn two of their three games with the champions already this season, offering no guarantees of a title party tomorrow lunchtime.
If it is delayed, many will live with the temporary setback comfortably.
Yet Celtic enter the game in a good place. The bigger the domestic game, the better they seem to play, with the enjoyment of their biggest Hampden win over Rangers since 1969 enhanced by the post-match bust-up which ended in the suspensions of Kenny Miller and Ibrox captain Lee Wallace.
‘Listen, that is the game, isn’t it?’ shrugged Rodgers as he pondered Rangers’ troubles.
‘If you lose a semi-final, it’s tough. If you lose to one of your great rivals, it’s difficult. Everyone knows what the fall-out from these type of games can be. But we coped with it.
‘Always when you win a semi-final, and play how we played and make your supporters happy, you can enjoy it for a day or two. But you always have to retain your humility and look at it and see what you could have done better. Then the show goes on and you make sure you’re ready for the next game.
‘There are still areas we analysed that we can be better in but, when you play with that composure and take charge of a game like that under that pressure, those are great signs for me of the team getting better.’
The struggle to maintain the unbeaten standards of last season has been clear for all to see.
In matches against Dundee and Motherwell, or other bottom-six teams, motivation is hard to find. In the two games Rangers managed to draw at Parkhead, complacency was also an issue. Games like last weekend’s semi-final, when a second consecutive Treble was at stake, seem to suit Celtic.
‘There have been other games with greater scorelines but under the professional pressure of the game and everything that was on it, I think what pleased me really was the performance,’ admitted Rodgers.
‘You see the team playing at Hampden seven times and winning seven times. You see the calmness and the edge, but also the control.
‘They took real charge of the game from the very first minute. That ferocious intent, in our defending and our pressing. To stop the long ball, you have to counter-press the game hard. There were very few opportunities for that for Rangers.
‘So, tactically, I was really pleased with the players. Coping in that situation was really pleasing.’
Beating Hibs would secure the league. To win a second successive domestic Treble, Celtic have to maintain their competitive rhythm until the Scottish Cup final against Motherwell on May 19. With a short close season before Champions League qualifiers, Rodgers would like to give his players rest, but needs to find a balance.
‘We still need to work,’ he said. ‘We’ve got some time to the next weekend we can’t just stick the sombrero on.
‘There are hard games leading in to the cup final, which is way down the road. They’ll get a few days but will be ready for the next game.’
Rodgers has reached a compromise with Scotland boss Alex McLeish over the friendly internationals in Peru and Mexico on May 29 and June 2.
‘I spoke to Alex,’ he said. ‘Some of them might go, definitely not all of them. There’s good dialogue but my job is to protect Celtic and the players. But I know every case is different.
Striker Leigh Griffiths has already expressed a desire to travel to South and Central America after a season disrupted by injury. Confirming Celtic are also talking to the striker about a pay rise, Rodgers added: ‘I’d love to have him here and tie him down. Talks are ongoing with his representatives.’
Money is unlikely to be the issue after the Parkhead club raked in £28million for qualifying for this season’s Champions League group stage.
‘The last couple of campaigns we’ve come through it,’ said Rodgers. ‘Hopefully, we’ll get the league sorted out now — and worry about that later.’