A DEAD RUBBER?
Try telling that to these five Celtic stars with a point to prove
CONTAINED within the pages of The Big Book of Scottish Football Cliches is the rule that states: there’s no such thing as a meaningless Old Firm match.
But cliches are cliches because they tend to be tiresomely true.
For Celtic, the dream of ten in a row may be long gone, buried under the wreckage of a car crash season to forget.
But there are still plenty of reasons why these five Parkhead stars, in particular, should be busting a gut to make their mark at home to newly crowned champions Rangers on Sunday.
DAVID TURNBULL
In a grim season of struggle for Celtic, Turnbull has emerged as a rare shining light at Parkhead.
After making his £3million switch from Motherwell last August — 14 months after a knee injury that came to light during a Celtic medical initially torpedoed the move — the midfielder struggled to break into the Celtic team to begin with.
But after starting and scoring the winner in the final Europa League group match against Lille, he has not looked back.
A talented box-to-box player more capable of coming up with a goal, Turnbull this week missed out on a Scotland call-up.
A star of the future with club and country, the 21-year-old will be looking to Sunday’s Old Firm derby — and beyond — to prove the people who say the new Celtic team must be built around him this summer are correct.
LEIGH GRIFFITHS
The Celtic striker set the tone for a calamitous season when he was left out of the pre-season trip to France after reporting back out of shape ahead of the biggest season of his life for club and country.
A player with many off-field problems, he could hardly complain if he is heading for the exit door in the summer.
And yet. And yet. He may be infuriating but if Celtic do finally offload the wantaway Odsonne Edouard this summer then the Scotland star is the club’s only proven striker.
Albian Ajeti and Patryk Klimala do not look the part, while Griffiths is in the top 20 Celtic scorers of all time.
Still only 30, a player of his ability would cost a fortune in the transfer market. A strong showing on Sunday against Rangers and for the rest of the season may just be enough to convince the new manager he’s worth keeping even as an option from the bench until the end of his contract in the summer of 2022. But it would be a big gamble.
SCOTT BROWN
Sportsmail columnist Kris Commons is firmly of the belief that it would be crazy to let a man of Brown’s experience walk away at the end of his contract this summer.
Facing the biggest overhaul of the club in a generation, Commons believes the veteran skipper’s experience makes him the perfect man to help smooth the transition.
He may be 36 in the summer but Brown will be wanting to impress if chosen against Rangers to prove he has enough in the tank to deserves another year on his contract, even if appearances are fleeting.
Or he will want to go out with a bang in what could be his last home Old Firm clash in his 14 years wearing green and white.
JAMES FORREST
Such a talisman for club and country, the wide attacker was left injured on the sidelines as Celtic’s ten-in-a-row bid died.
He also cut a frustrated but happier figure as Scotland reached a major finals for the first time in 23 years by beating Serbia on penalties in the play-offs in November.
Recovering at home, he missed out on the wild celebrations among the travelling group in Belgrade.
But he had played a huge role in qualification, scoring five goals in Nations League matches against Albania and Israel, which contributed to Scotland’s progress to the play-offs.
Having finally made his return to the Celtic team as a late substitute against Dundee United in the team’s last outing, Forrest was this week omitted by Clarke for this month’s World Cup qualifiers.
But a stellar display against Rangers this weekend, and in Celtic’s remaining matches, would send out a reminder of his threat ahead of this summer’s footballing jamboree against the Czech Republic, England and Croatia.
RYAN CHRISTIE
The attacker is in line for a seventh start against Rangers this Sunday at Parkhead. But the 26-year-old is still looking for his first goal in the Old Firm fixture.
In December 2019, he saw Allan McGregor save his penalty at 0-0 as Rangers went on to win 2-1; as the Ibrox side triumphed in the league at Celtic Park for the first time in eight years.
Christie will be desperate to atone for that miss but he is currently off-form and appears to have lost his shooting boots with fans being frustrated by some of his wild efforts from long range.
But what better way to win them back — and send a timely reminder to Steve Clarke ahead of the Euros — than by exorcising his demons by excelling against Rangers.