Strachan: Players failed to take their chance to shine
Gavin Strachan last night admitted Celtic’s fringe players had not really risen to the challenge presented to them by the club’s Covid-19 problems. In charge in the absence of Neil Lennon and John Kennedy, who are both in self-isolation, the coach cut a frustrated figure as the Hoops were held by Livingston. That made it just two points out of a possible six since the club’s controversial trip to Dubai.
Should Rangers beat Motherwell today, the gap will be 23 points – with the fact the chasers have games in hand (two just now, three after Rangers play) of little consolation.
“It was a tough game like we knew it would be,” said Strachan.
“In the first half, Livingston imposed their way of playing on us, more than we did on them. We weren’t happy with that at half-time. “In the second half, we got a bit more control but it went a bit ragged again towards the end. “We allowed Livi to play too much on the front foot. We weren’t enough of a threat and the moments we did get in their half were few and far between.
“We wanted far more than that.
“What the situation gave us was people to stake a claim, have an opportunity and you are looking at who really stood out.
“There was a couple of decent performances, but probably not so much stand-out ones. “We played the second half more in their half, but this is Celtic – we should be doing that anyway.” Livingston boss David Martindale, meanwhile, was left to rue just how close his side came to claiming what would have been the club’s firstever win at Celtic Park. “I’ve never had the feeling of leaving Parkhead disappointed we didn’t win – so it’s probably a bit strange,” he said.
“We’ve been here and got a draw before, but potentially we had a fantastic opportunity to get three points today. “I’ll try not to dwell on the negatives. We’ve come to Celtic Park and got a point, we’re still unbeaten and we got a clean sheet.
“I need to watch what I’m saying because we play them again on Wednesday. Lenny will use this in his team talk! “I thought Celtic had some good chances as well and were a wee bit unlucky.
“But, on the balance of play and opportunities created, we were more unfortunate not to get three points. “No-one really dominated the game. On reflection, I’m a bit disappointed, but not surprised, because this was still a very good Celtic team.