That loss to Rangers is just annoying now... but it has made us win every match since
WHEN a victorious Steven Gerrard screamed into a Sky Sports camera at Celtic Park on December 29, it felt like Rangers had truly thrown down the gauntlet to their fierce rivals.
His jubilant team had just secured a superb 2-1 triumph at the home of the champions, leaving them only two points behind Neil Lennon’s side at the top of the table but with a crucial game in hand.
All the momentum seemed to be with the Ibrox side, who were certainly the happier team heading into the winter break.
Just a few weeks and six Premiership games later, however, that first win at Parkhead in almost a decade for the Ibrox side has been downgraded in the eyes of Celtic’s players from a potentially decisive moment in the title race to a mere annoyance. A blip on the road, if you will.
While Rangers’ downward spiral since their trip to Dubai was continuing with a 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock on Wednesday night, the Hoops were hammering Hearts 5-0 at Parkhead, meaning they are now ten points clear at the summit and all but certain to clinch a record-equalling nine-in-a-row.
With 12 matches still to go, Lennon’s ruthless side have also scored as many goals this Premiership term — 77 — as they did in the whole of their last campaign. They have scored four more than the entirety of their 2017-18 championship season.
Remarkably, in routing Daniel Stendel’s Tynecastle side, neither of their two main strikers, Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths, found the net — with the scoring left to Olivier Ntcham, Christopher Jullien, Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and Jozo Simunovic.
Looking back now on that 2-1 Old Firm loss, Simunovic believes that, in the grand scheme of things, it ultimately proved a mild inconvenience to Celtic.
If anything, he says it motivated them to win every game since, and Simunovic has challenged his relentless team to make sure it remains their last loss of the season.
‘That (Rangers) game is behind us,’ shrugged the Croat after the win over Hearts made it eight out of eight in all competitions since the winter break.
‘It annoyed us, of course, because it was the Old Firm and they are always big games.
‘Of course, it means a lot if you get beaten, so for us it has been a good reaction since New Year.
‘I believed that we could win every game after the New Year.
‘I believed in myself and the boys believed, for sure. We had to go game by game and win them all.
‘Now we have to keep going. We have a big game at Aberdeen on Sunday but, for us, it is very simple. Every game is big for us and we want to win every game.
‘Every game brings three more points and we want to take them all.
‘I don’t know if we are putting the pressure on others by winning games and scoring goals.
‘We just look at ourselves. We all know our jobs and the style of football we want to play.
‘We want to play well and score goals — that’s the Celtic way. We’re doing it the right way.
‘It’s very simple — it’s all about us. If you look back over the last few years we have set standards.
‘We regrouped after New Year. But we are still chasing and we still want to score more goals.’
As news filtered through that Kilmarnock’s Eamonn Brophy had scored what proved to be a winning goal at Rugby Park, Celtic Park erupted in joy while the players on the field remained focused.
Lennon insisted Celtic are taking nothing for granted yet but Simunovic agreed that it felt like a big night in the championship race.
‘We knew something was happening with the cheers but the most important thing for us was finishing our game in the right way,’ he said.
‘It was a good night because we got a result and the other result went our way as well.
‘Was it a significant night in the title race? If you just look at our game, then yes, because Hearts beat Rangers recently.
‘But we didn’t talk about the game at Kilmarnock. It was all about ourselves and making sure we did very well.
‘All we were thinking about was us and our performance. Even before the game, it was all about our performance and our jobs out there.
‘They way it all finished was good for us. But there are a lot of games still to play and a big job is still in front of us.’
On a personal level, Simunovic is just enjoying playing football again after five months out following reconstructive surgery on his right knee.
Jullien and Kris Ajer have been Lennon’s first choice centre-backs but a recent switch to 3-5-2 has meant room for Simunovic, whose goal in the filleting of Hearts was his first of the season.
‘I still need some game-time,’ he said. ‘But that’s normal and I’m looking forward to improving game to game and proving to myself and others that I’m fine.
‘I missed a lot of games. Five months is not a short period, especially in the busiest time of the season.
‘But I have been working hard. I know how hard I worked and I wanted to use that time as much as possible so that I could be better and better when I came back.
‘In terms of injuries, I’d like to say that is now it, but I need to go day by day.
‘For sure, I definitely learnt something from my past. I want to play as much as possible and want to keep going as I am now.
‘I still believe that I have some improvement ahead of me, but not only me, all of us.
‘I’m comfortable playing in a three-man defence or in a four. It doesn’t matter. It’s about playing — and playing as well as possible.
‘But the manager picks the team. I will be ready and if he picks me, okay. But, if not, that’s okay, too.
‘The most important thing is that Celtic are winning games.’
We didn’t talk about the game at Killie and focused on ourselves