CELTS DO IT WITH WIM AND VIGOUR
Former boss Jansen enjoys a Parkhead return as runaway leaders stretch winning run over determined Motherwell
THE man who stopped ‘ten in a row’ was in town to witness Celtic coasting to 20 league wins in succession.
There will not be any of the type of late-season thrills this year that lifted Wim Jansen to managerial wonder status in Celtic’s history thanks to his heroics of 1997-98 against Rangers.
Celtic have been called easy winners of this season’s Ladbrokes Premiership from a long way out and, as a result, there may be a few days such as this subdued success to view along the home stretch.
Routine, professional, it was all of that as a Moussa Dembele penalty and James Forrest’s strike settled matters with four minutes left until half-time.
A score of Premiership victories on the spin, and 25 in all domestic competitions, are the satisfying stats to keep Celtic salivating over a season that promises much more high achievement to come.
Mark McGhee expects them to remain unbeaten in Scotland until the end of the season and rates only an Aberdeen display on a par with or better than their dismantling of his Motherwell last midweek as capable of stopping Celtic carrying on the winning habit into the summer.
There could have been no more daunting a task for a team humiliated 7-2 than a visit to Celtic Park, so a steady start was pined for by McGhee to settle his embattled team.
However, his three pre-match changes from Pittodrie became four when, with Stevie Hammell hurt in the warm-up, Joe Chalmers was promoted from the bench.
Within five minutes of starting a stand-in left back, McGhee was changing his left-sided centre-half when Stephen McManus succumbed to an early knock.
An ovation from the home fans for their former skipper was no kind of consolation for the Motherwell stalwart as he left a patched-up defence to tackle the free-scoring hosts and chief striker Dembele fancying a hat-trick of hat-tricks.
Ben Heneghan, with a couple of anxious touches deep in his own territory, was partnered by on-loan Reading teenager Zak Jules for the remainder.
And, with that, they sat deep and asked Celtic to work round them in a bid to keep the entertainment at a lower level than the Aberdeen fans were treated to on Wednesday.
Craig Samson was only worked once in the opening half hour in a display of defensive solidity from Motherwell. After he batted away from Forrest, Liam Henderson did not have much time to conjure a crack at goal and it showed as he fired wide on the volley from the rebound.
What a cheap and infuriating manner to concede, then, as a penalty kick awarded for a needlessly clumsy challenge sent Celtic in front.
Dembele was going away from goal, chasing the spare ball from a deep corner, when Jules clattered in from behind. The Frenchman stole a touch just before contact, so it was a simple call for referee Don Robertson.
And a simple task, as it turned out, for Dembele to deftly guide his kick home by sending Samson the wrong way for his 27th goal for the club.
The Frenchman had looked to be lacking a bit of dig until then but it can be dangerous to help him find the mood. He did just that.
Forrest soon benefited from the switch being flicked, as Dembele’s strong hold-up play set up the winger to stare down his opponents.
Forrest faked a dash inside, then beat Chalmers on the outside before cutting back through the former Celt and Jules, and sending a drive inside Samson’s right-hand post.
Chalmers was an ex-academy teammate of Forrest and he was shown no mercy by his pal throughout a contest he was not even meant to start.
It was all more than enough to infuriate McGhee in his form of late, but how could we tell? Motherwell No2 James McFadden was left to issue most of the instructions yesterday as the Fir Park boss kept a lower profile in the dugout.
The Scotland assistant manager had national team keeper Craig Gordon to curse for dealing with the solitary sojourn Motherwell made deep into his penalty box in the first half.
Stephen Pearson’s effort, on the slide from Louis Moult ball, found Gordon in the perfect position to get down low and save.
The signs were ominous, though, so it was a question of ‘how many?’ for Celtic as Brendan Rodgers threw on Stuart Armstrong.
In his first outing since January 25 when replacing Henderson at the interval, Armstrong sparked a move on the break that led to Scott Brown teeing up Dembele as the striker hunted down the chances to move him closer to taking home another match ball.
The powerful youngster continued to give Heneghan a thoroughly uncomfortable afternoon but Celtic were unable to find a second-half breakthrough as the visitors stuck resolutely to their bid to regain some respect.
Nir Bitton could not make the most of the set-piece opportunities he was presented with, and was guilty of several slack passes, although Craig Clay’s fine performance in the Motherwell midfield can be credited with ensuring Celtic could not sail through the entire 90 minutes.
Rodgers the perfectionist could easily have cause for complaint in the second half for some sloppy distribution from the back or the flash of complacency that saw Scott Sinclair balloon a chance over the bar following a great run from Forrest.
Instead, the Celtic boss identified fault with the playing surface for slowing down the pace and disrupting the poise of his preferred style of play.
The only serious scare of the day, however, concerned Kieran Tierney, when substitute Ryan Bowman was late and high with a tackle. The Scotland defender emerged unscathed and so does Celtic’s impeccable league record since Inverness held them way back on September 18.