Euro defeat is reality check for the Hoops
A taxi driver mate has a theory about gambling which fits his decision to become teetotal.
Once a bottle of whisky a day man, he’s strictly off the sauce and during a conversation on Thursday morning he was talking about seeing life through a clearer prism.
His belief is that once a bet is struck you should say goodbye to the cash and expect it to be a one-way transaction.
In his eyes, anything else is a bonus.
He’s a Celtic diehard and no optimist but when it comes to having a flutter on his team it’s devil may care and delusion.
Sadly, the devil on this occasion was in the detail for a side which haven’t won a knockout-stage tie in Europe for 18 years.
That horror stat beggars belief but the cabbie wouldn’t be dissuaded.
He said: “I’m not a betting man but as soon as I get off the rank I’m sticking £100 on Celtic to win the Europa Conference League.”
Caution was urged, a fear he was back on the booze was thankfully unfounded, but his mug’s bet was placed.
Like thousands of other Hoops fans, he has a false sense of security over where his side is in this state of transition.
That’s Ange Postecoglou’s power of persuasion for you.
His impact as a boss and a galvanising character has the Hoops support abandoning their senses over expectation and rate of progress.
Losing at home to Norwegians Bodo/Glimt shouldn’t have come as such a shock – look at the stats and you could argue it was expected.
It was also a defeat which was magnified by the ‘my dad’s bigger than your dad’ brigade as Rangers hammered Borussia Dortmund.
This Celtic team is in an encouraging stage of transformation.
Superb recruitment in all departments but there remain major defensive flaws, midfield malfunctions and a lack of killer instinct.
They’re decent and getting better but far from capable of handling the slicker sides in Europe.
Bodo/Glimt aren’t a team which rolls of the tongue when it comes to crack sides on the continent but they’ve recently inflicted the heaviest defeat of Jose Mourinho’s career by hammering Roma 6-1.
Put them in a different strip at Parkhead and you could have been watching a club of far greater stature than one lazily cast as minnows.
More pain is on the agenda in the second leg on a plastic pitch against an athletic opponent whose most impressive quality was a comfort in possession and the knowledge when to pick their moments.
Patience and perspective are required with Postecoglou and his much-changed team.
It’s still early days and all bets should remain off under the Aussie as far as European ambitions are concerned with more pressing issues on the home front.
Celtic are decent & getting better but not ready for slicker sides in Europe