THE ACID TEST
Something’s got to give as Lennon’s entertainers face a Rodgers side finally rediscovering their mojo
AWEEKEND of fascinating Premiership match-ups promises to be a perfect antidote to the gloom of the recent international break. Each has its own storyline, but perhaps none is quite as intriguing as the fixture hosted at Celtic Park tomorrow.
Fresh from a 6-0 hammering of Hamilton, Hibernian arrive in Glasgow’s east end with a one-point advantage over their hosts. It was a head-to-head Neil Lennon’s side relished last season, recording a win and two draws over the course of four league meetings. Another sparkling performance would do much to reinforce the notion that the champions will not have it all their own way in this term’s title contest.
Of course, much has been made about how standards have slipped at Celtic this season. But then came their own 6-0 rout — as St Johnstone were shredded by an inspired James Forrest-led display 12 days ago.
The sense was of a team returning to the boil. Handling whatever Hibs can produce and recording a victory would leave Brendan Rodgers’ side feeling far more assured about reconnecting with their old, potent ways.
Ex-Celtic striker Simon Donnelly will be among the interested spectators savouring one of the clashes of the campaign to date. Hailing Lennon’s men for their free-flowing style, he views it as an acid test for the current condition of both sides.
‘I will be covering the Celtic game and Hibs have done well there,’ said Donnelly, a title winner at Parkhead in 1998. ‘I remember the 2-2 game (last September) in particular, when two young Scots, (John) McGinn and (Callum) McGregor, scored the goals.
‘Out of most of the teams, Hibs seems to perform best at Celtic Park, although I know Aberdeen won there at the end of last season.
‘Hibs have been the best team to watch so far this term, even if Celtic had a great result at McDiarmid Park.
‘I think it will be a much more open league this season, although I still expect Celtic to win it.
‘For a neutral, it’s good to have four or five teams in about it and it’s good when you have a day like Saturday when challenging teams are playing against each other.
‘Celtic have shown some signs recently that they are getting back to where they were — especially against St Johnstone where they blew them away and Forrest was on top form.
‘That will give them confidence, but the international break halts that a bit, so it will be interesting to see which Celtic turns up at the weekend because they will be in a game against Hibs. They will have to be at a decent level to win.’
Donnelly’s admiration for Lennon’s work at Easter Road increases when he considers the summer departures of both McGinn and fellow midfield influencer Dylan McGeouch.
‘He’s done it a few times where he loses players and he finds new ones,’ the 43-year-old said of Lennon. ‘I watched them against Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup and, even though they lost on penalties, they were the better team and played free-flowing, exciting football.
‘(Stevie) Mallan has come in and done well and Neil seems to be getting the best out of (Martin) Boyle.’
One man with ties to both Celtic and Hibs is, of course, Leigh Griffiths. The striker made headlines last week when he withdrew from the Scotland squad, citing a need to work on his ‘fitness’.
Donnelly, who won ten caps for Scotland, hopes the extra training at Lennoxtown pays off and that Griffiths is back in Alex McLeish’s plans for next month’s crunch Nations League double-header against Albania and Israel.
‘I don’t think anyone should turn their back on their nation — although I don’t think that’s what he did,’ continued Donnelly.
‘I don’t think he was fully fit. I have seen him in fits and starts. He needs to be playing regularly and he needs to be fully fit. A fully fit Leigh Griffiths is an asset for Celtic and Scotland.
‘Whether there are personal problems there (with McLeish) I don’t know. I don’t know the ins and outs of Scotland.
‘But, for me, in football terms, if you can get the ball to a fully fit Leigh Griffiths in the final third, he has shown that nine times out of ten he will put the ball in the back of the net. We don’t have anyone better.’
Despite last week’s woes against Israel and Portugal, Donnelly still expects the national side to recover and finish top of their Nations League section and enter the play-off stream for Euro 2020.
‘We’re desperate for success in anything, we’re a proud nation, and hopefully we can lift it at senior level,’ added Donnelly, who will feature for a Scotland select in the Glasgow edition of Star Sixes — a six-a-side tournament for ex-internationals — at the SSE Hydro in January.
‘I know we’re on the back of a bad result against Israel, but I still think we’ve got the players there.
‘People talk about permutations and formations, but I still think we’ve got some young players there, and if we stick by them and give them that bit of belief and support, they will kick us on.
‘Scott Brown has retired, and we probably could have done with an experienced head in there, but I understand his decision.
‘But I still think that there’s positives. I’m like any other supporter — I was disappointed with last week, but we’ve still got Albania away and Israel at home, so I’d expect us to regroup and go on and win that section.’