WE WERE TRUE INVINCIBLES
Celtic’s clean sweep in 2017 eclipses what Rangers have done this season, insists Kennedy
THERE are unbeaten seasons. And then there are the undisputed Invincibles. For John Kennedy, even going through the entire league campaign without loss won’t be enough to put Steven Gerrard’s Rangers on a par with Brendan Rodgers’ famous Treble-winning Celtic team of 2016-17.
Now the Parkhead interim manager wants to end all arguments — by securing a home victory tomorrow.
Kennedy, who confirmed that his team won’t be giving the newly-crowned champions a guard of honour ahead of the lunchtime kick-off, declared: ‘Rangers have had their moment — but we want it to be a moment.’
The Ibrox side have yet to suffer a loss in the Premiership this season.
Kennedy, part of the backroom staff as Celtic became the first Scottish team in over a century to go through the entire league campaign undefeated, insisted there can be no comparison between the two.
Asked about his determination to protect his club’s record as Invincibles, he said: ‘It’s important because it’s part of our history and we’re very proud of that. But we also went a full season, winning each trophy. So that, in isolation, is a bigger achievement.
‘We’ll not use it as extra motivation. We have set the marker in previous seasons. We have cleaned up domestically in previous seasons.
‘It will not be an extra incentive for the players to stop Rangers. It’s more about us now, what we deliver, how we perform and the results we get.’
Asked what made Celtic’s effort in 2016-17 better than anything Rangers might hope to achieve this year, Kennedy pointed to the fact that Gerrard’s men were knocked out of the League Cup by St Mirren.
‘Winning more trophies, probably,’ he said. ‘Especially in knockout competitions, it only takes one game to be off the boil and you’re out.
‘That period of being so successful is a huge achievement. As much as we all acknowledge it, in later years when it can’t be repeated, we’ll probably look back on it and say: “Wow, that must have been an unbelievable team”.
‘We’ve had a big setback this season with the league campaign but you don’t just become a poor team overnight. So we need to get back to our levels and show that on Sunday.’
There will be no guard of honour for Rangers, just as there was none for Celtic when they went to Ibrox after winning the title in 2018-19.
Many of the current Celtic squad were involved that day. Hence the reluctance to go the extra mile in hailing the new title holders. ‘There has been a lot of chat around it and a lot of people have spoken about it,’ said Kennedy. ‘I think it has been made out to be a bigger issue than it is. As a club, we always act with dignity, respect and everything else. ‘We’ll make a collective decision on that and we will probably not do it. The same groups, both here and at Rangers, were in the same situation in 2019. ‘The guard of honour didn’t materialise, so we will probably return that. ‘We will focus on the game, get on with it, rather than make a big deal out of that.’ Twenty points adrift in the league table, Celtic can do no more than try to close the gap on the leaders in the hope of making things look a little bit more respectable by the season’s end.
There is, however, no such thing as an Old Firm game without meaning or import.
‘We owe it to ourselves as much as the supporters,’ stressed former Celtic and Scotland defender Kennedy. ‘We all accept that responsibility.
‘It has been a really difficult season for the fans. One, because they’ve put their money into the club when they’ve not been able to attend the games.
‘And because of the way the season has gone, it becomes very frustrating for everyone.
‘The fact that you can’t get in and support the team as well … that’s very difficult.
‘As much as we owe it to everyone, it’s always about what we do on the field to give the fans that joy and that pride in their team.
‘We know that is what we have to get back to.
‘A Rangers match is one that gives them that if you can go out and perform well and get a big result.
‘It doesn’t matter about where we are in the league, we’ll look at the derby game in isolation.
‘We are up against our biggest rivals and want to do well — and, hopefully, lay down a marker for moving forward. A game like this is always important when you have two teams competing with each other every year.
‘We’ve had great success over the years and this season has been a setback.
‘But it’s important we don’t let that linger and we get back to the levels we are capable of.
‘These are the games you are judged on as individuals and also as a team.
‘We know that we have underperformed too many times this season but we want to show our true levels.
‘The league table does not lie when you look at the performances this season and what we’ve delivered.
‘But we know we are better than that. We’ve underperformed and Rangers have maximised, and that’s why they are champions.
‘They’ve been at full tilt and performed well all season while we haven’t.
‘We know the levels we can get to but we need to get there this weekend.
‘It would lay down a marker that we are still capable, we are still here, and then we can take it forward.’